''UFC on ABC: Hill vs. Rountree Jr.'' (also known as ''UFC on ABC 8'') is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

that will take place on June 21, 2025, at the

Baku Crystal Hall Baku Crystal Hall ( Azerbaijani: ''Bakı Kristal Zalı'') is an indoor arena in Baku, Azerbaijan. It is located on the coast of Baku near National Flag Square. Construction of the arena began in August 2011 and finished in April 2012in time for ...

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

, Azerbaijan.

Background

A light heavyweight bout between former

UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight class ...

Jamahal Hill Jamahal Hill (; born May 19, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. As of J ...

and former title challenger Khalil Rountree Jr. is scheduled to headline the event. The pairing was originally expected to meet at UFC 303 in June 2024, but the bout was scrapped as Rountree withdrew from the event after unintentionally ingesting

DHEA Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), also known as androstenolone, is an endogenous steroid hormone precursor. It is one of the most abundant circulating steroids in humans. DHEA is produced in the adrenal glands, the gonads, and the brain. It functio ...

in a tainted supplement. They were then booked to headline UFC on ESPN: Machado Garry vs. Prates in April, but Hill pulled out due to a lingering leg injury. The co-main event would feature a flyweight bout between

Tagir Ulanbekov Tagir Radzhabovich Ulanbekov (; born July 8, 1991) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is also the former Fight Nights Global Flyweight Champion. U ...

and former

UFC Flyweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

challenger

Kyoji Horiguchi is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He most recently competed in Rizin FF in the Flyweight division, where he was a former RIZIN Flyweight Champion and former RIZIN Bantamweight Championsh ...

(who is also a former RIZIN Flyweight and two-time RIZIN Bantamweight Champion, as well as former Bellator Bantamweight World Champion). Horiguchi would make his promotional return for the first time since November 2016. In turn, Horiguchi pulled out for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Azat Maksum. A heavyweight bout between former interim

UFC Heavyweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight clas ...

challenger

Curtis Blaydes Curtis Lionell Blaydes (born February 18, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2014, Blaydes formerly competed ...

and promotional newcomer Rizvan Kuniev is scheduled for this event. The pairing was originally scheduled for UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Song, then shifted to

UFC 313 ''UFC 313: Pereira vs. Ankalaev '' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 8, 2025, at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Valley, United States. Background A U ...

and eventually cancelled a few hours before the event after Blaydes had to pull out due to an undisclosed illness. The bout was later rescheduled for UFC Fight Night: Burns vs. Morales but was subsequently moved to this event for unknown reasons. Another couple of fights were also scheduled for UFC Fight Night: Burns vs. Morales and moved to this event due to undisclosed reasons: a middleweight bout between Park Jun-yong and Ismail Naurdiev and a heavyweight bout between

Hamdy Abdelwahab Hamdy El-Said Abdelwahab (; born 22 January 1993) is an Egyptian Greco-Roman wrestler and mixed martial artist currently competing in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He competed in the men's Greco-Roman 98 kg ev ...

and The Ultimate Fighter: Team Peña vs. Team Nunes heavyweight winner Mohammed Usman.

Fight card

References

{{2025 in mixed martial arts 2025 in UFC June 2025 sports events in Azerbaijan Ultimate Fighting Championship flagship events 2025 in Azerbaijani sport Martial arts in Azerbaijan Sports competitions in Azerbaijan Sports competitions in Baku 21st century in Azerbaijan

Background

Fight card

See also

References