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- What: UFC Baku Main Event
- Who: Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree Jr.
- Date: Saturday, June 21, 2025
- Location: Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan
- Time: Prelims (12:00 p.m. ET), Main Card (3:00 p.m. ET)
- How to Watch: ESPN+, ESPN2, ABC
The UFC heads to a new market for this week’s fight card. On Saturday, June 21, the promotion is in Baku, Azerbaijan for the UFC Baku card. The event, which has an early start time of 2:00 p.m. ET for the main card, is headlined by an important light heavyweight contest. In that fight, the former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill faces recent UFC 205-pound title challenger Khalil Rountree Jr. Hill enters the UFC Baku main event as the No. 4 fighter in the official UFC light heavyweight rankings, while Rountree comes into the bout as the No. 7 competitor in the division.
Jamahal Hill (12-3-0-1) enters UFC Baku on the first losing skid of his career. The ex-champ has been knocked out in his past two outings, losing to Alex Pereira in April 2024 and then falling to ex-UFC champ Jiri Prochazka in January of this year. He won the UFC title in January 2023 with a decision over Glover Teixeira. Hill was forced to surrender the belt after suffering a torn Achilles tendon in the summer of 2023.
Khalil Rountree (13-6-0-1) was on a five-fight winning streak when he met Pereira for the UFC light heavyweight crown in October 2024. Pereira won that fight via fourth-round TKO.
Before we look at the best bets for Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. on the UFC Baku card, check out the best UFC betting sites and where you can find our betting picks for the UFC 317 main event, Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira.
UFC Baku Main Event: Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. betting picks
| Fighters |  |  |  |  |
| Jamahal Hill | +131 | +140 | +126 | +131 |
| Khalil Rountree Jr | -151 | -165 | -150 | -156 |
UFC Baku Main Event: Jamahal Hill betting breakdown
Jamahal Hill is a striker. In fact, the former UFC light heavyweight champion has never attempted a takedown as a member of the UFC roster. Hill has stopping power in his strikes, but he is also incredibly active with his strikes. During his title-winning scrap against Glover Teixeira, Hill attempted 402 significant strikes and landed 232 of those attempts. Those 232 significant strikes landed are a UFC light heavyweight record for most strikes landed in a UFC 205-pound scrap, and the 402 attempts rank second all-time in a UFC light heavyweight battle.
Hill sets a fast pace, and he has gone five rounds. When the ex-champ gets an opening, he unloads with combinations, with most of his strikes focused on his opponent’s head. Against Teixeira, 77 percent of Hill’s landed strikes were to his foe’s head. Hill averages 7.05 significant strikes landed per minute, and he lands with 53 percent accuracy. Hill absorbs 4.02 significant strikes per minute and has a defensive rate of 45 percent.
The downside of Hill’s power is that he does not have sound defense. It’ll be interesting to see if he has done anything about that, considering he enters this fight against another hard-hitting opponent coming off two knockout losses in a row.
UFC Baku Main Event: Khalil Rountree Jr. betting breakdown
A member of the UFC roster since 2016, Khalil Rountree Jr. was a surprise booking for a title fight against Pereira, as he was coming off a recent suspension for a tainted supplement. Rountree showed toughness and resiliency in that contest before the referee waved off the contest in the fourth round. He looks to stay in the title shot conversation on Saturday with a win over Hill.
Rountree is a striker. He is powerful and effective and can mix up his targets and techniques. However, his striking arsenal is not a deep one as he tends to focus on head and body shots. Making things more difficult for Rountree is that he is giving up height and reach in this contest. Rountree’s best bet is to show patience against the aggressive but defensively suspect Hill. If he can find an opening for a powerful counter, Rountree could end the fight at any moment.
Rountree lands 3.73 significant strikes per minute with an accuracy of 38 percent. His striking defense is 48 percent, and he gets hit 4.51 times per minute. Like his opponent has never attempted a takedown as a UFC fighter.
Best Bets: UFC Baku Main Event – Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree Jr.
The first betting pick one should look at for this fight is for the contest to end via knockout because that is the likely outcome, no matter which fighter gets their hand raised in victory. As for the fighter to pick, I’m leaning toward Rountree, as he is the better technical striker with a deeper well of talent. If he can manage distance and timing well, this fight is his to lose.
The betting pick for the UFC Baku main event is for Khalil Rountree Jr. to beat Jamahal Hill via knockout.
See below the top offshore sportsbooks where you can wager online and choose the best one for you:
Best Betting Sites 