UFC Baku went down yesterday (Sat., June 21, 2025) inside Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan, which saw Khalil Rountree easily defeat former UFC Light Heavyweight champion, Jamahal Hill,via dominant unanimous decision (recap). In the co-main event, Rafael Fiziev defeated Ignacio Bahamondes via unanimous decision, while Curtis Blaydessnuck past unranked debutant, Rizvan Kuniev,via split decision.
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Winner: Khalil Rountree
Who He Should Face Next: Carlos Ulberg
It took about a year to finally go down, but Rountree finally got his hands on Hill … and he looked pretty phenomenal. “War Horse” wants to get back to the title as quickly as possible, and he can do that by taking on No. 3-seeded Carlos Ulberg.And that can go down in UFC’s return to Perth, Australia, later this year (those details here).
The other obvious, clear option is Jiri Prochazka, but it seems like he’s too busy going to school at the moment (seriously), so he can go get a degree; however, give me Rountree vs. Prochazka next year for sure.
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Winner: Rafael Fiziev
Who He Should Face Next: UFC 317’s Dariush/Moicano loser
Fiziev got back into the win column, snapping his dreaded three-fight skid. “Ataman” didn’t call out anyone when given the microphone after his fight, which is always disappointing. There are countless fun matchups in the Lightweight division, but I think a date with the loser of next weekend’s Beneil Dariush vs.Renato Moicano makes sense from a timeline sense.
Fiziev and Moicano fought in 2020, with Fiziev knocking him out (watch highlights), but Moicano is a completely different fighter (plus it was kind of an early stoppage).
For what it’s worth, I almost went with Dan Hooker, but I have sneaking suspicion he might have a bad-blood date with Arman Tsarukyan sooner rather than later.
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Winner: Curtis Blaydes
Who He Should Face Next: Alexander Volkov rematch
Blaydes got back into the win column, squeaking past UFC rookie, Rizvan Kuniev, winning a very close split decision. After his win, “Razor” called for a fight againstCiryl Gane, but unfortunately, he’s not going to get that fight because all signs point to new UFC Heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall, fighting Gane.
With Blaydes fighting an unranked fighter at UFC Baku, it’s only fair he gets a top contender, so he should rematch Alexander Volkov later this year or early next year, as he tore his MCL in the first round.
Blaydes beat Volkov in 2020 in a pretty forgettable fight.
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Winner: Myktybek Orolbai
Who He Should Face Next: Nazim Sadykhov
Orolbai spoiled Tofiq Musayev’s UFC debut, submitting him in the first round with a nasty kimura (watch highlights). Orolbai has been tremendous thus far in UFC, with his only loss coming in a “Fight of the Year” candidate.
He should fight another Azerbaijani, Nazim Sadykhov, who stole the show on the same card in his “Fight of the Night” — and eventual knockout — of Nikolas Motta. Both Orolbai and Sadykhov are very close to the Top 15 rankings, so let them collide and figure out who is getting there first.
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Winner: Nazim Sadykhov
Who He Should Face Next: Myktybek Orolbai
I explained the reason just above this entry, but to put a bow on it, both Sadykhov and Orolbai are close to the rankings, and whoever wins would definitely deserve a ranked opponent in their next outing.
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Winner: Muhammad Naimov
Who He Should Face Next: Julian Erosa
Naimov scored a unanimous decision win over Bogdan Grad to kick off the main card, and he’s quietly racked up a 5-1 record in the promotion. The problem for me is, none of his wins were very memorable, so I’m going to throw Julian Erosa at him, which means it’ll be an exciting fight no matter what.
For more UFC Baku results, coverage and highlights click HERE.
