UFC will be held in Azerbaijan for the first time

UFC Fight Night will take place on June 21 at the Baku Crystal Hall.

"Report" reports that Azerbaijan will host the world-famous UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) tournament for the first time.

The event will be organized in cooperation with UFC, the Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and the Baku City Circuit Operations Company. In the main match of the tournament, former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamal Hill and Khalil Rountree Jr. will face each other.

Tickets for UFC Fight Night™: Hill vs. Roundtree Jr. event will go on sale on the "iTicket" platform on April 25 at 10:00. Early sales for "UFC Fight Club" members will begin on April 23, and for those who pre-register on April 24.

According to reports, UFC President and CEO Dana White and Azerbaijani Minister of Youth and Sports Farid Gayibov have signed a cooperation agreement. The signing ceremony took place in Miami before UFC 314: Volkanovski vs. Lopez fight.

Dana White said:
"Azerbaijan and its capital, Baku, have a great history of hosting international sports events. We have many strong athletes from this region. Therefore, it is no coincidence that the next UFC event will be held in Baku. I am looking forward to the debut event to be held in Baku on June 21."

Minister of Youth and Sports Farid Gayibov noted:
"Holding UFC in Baku is another important step towards turning Azerbaijan into a regional leader in sports. Thanks to the continuous attention and care of President Ilham Aliyev and the successful sports policy, Azerbaijan is known as a sports country in the world. This new cooperation with UFC further strengthens our country's position as a global sports center and demonstrates our commitment to the development of sports and international cooperation."

Baku City Circuit Operations Company CEO Maqsud Farzullayev added:
"In addition to our long-term cooperation with Formula 1, partnership with UFC is another great success for Baku in the sports world. This event will further enhance Azerbaijan's reputation on the global sports scene. We are proud to contribute to the development of UFC and combat sports in the region and continue to make Baku a major center for major international sports events."

Jamal Hill (12 wins, 3 losses, 1 no contest; USA) will have his second fight in UFC in 2025. He is the first athlete to go to the UFC championship through "Dana White's Contender Series". Hill aims to advance in the rankings by defeating Khalil Rountree Jr. in this fight.

Khalil Rountree Jr. (14 wins, 6 losses, 1 no contest; USA) last faced Alex Pereira at UFC 307. This fight was selected as the "Fight of the Night". Rountree Jr. has won 9 of his 13 victories by knockout.

The night will also feature other exciting fights. One of them is Kyoji Horiguchi's return to UFC. He will fight to become the first Japanese champion in UFC history. His opponent will be Tagir Ulanbekov, who is ranked 10th in the flyweight division. Ulanbekov is preparing for the fight under the leadership of Khabib Nurmagomedov.

In the heavyweight fight, Curtis Blaydes, who is ranked 5th, will face Rizvan Kuniev, who is making his UFC debut. Kuniev plans to make a name for himself in the UFC.

Other fights are as follows:

• Ismail Naurdiev (Morocco) – Junyong Park (South Korea) – middleweight
• Hamdi Abdelwahab (USA–Egypt) – Mohammed Usman (USA) – heavyweight
• Irina Alekseeva (Russia) – Claudia Siegula (Poland) – bantamweight
• Darya Zheleznyakova (France–Russia) – Melissa Mullins (England) – bantamweight.