UFC on ABC 8 poster released for Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. in Azerbaijan
UFC on ABC 8 poster released for Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. in Azerbaijan
The UFC makes its first-ever trip to Azerbaijan this summer.
The promotion heads to the capital city of Baku for UFC on ABC 8, which features a light heavyweight matchup between former champion Jamahal Hill and former title challenger Khalil Rountree Jr. in the main event. The event takes place at Baku Crystal Hall.
Both Hill (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) and Rountree Jr. (13-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) will look to return to the win column to get back on the path toward another shot at the 205-pound title.
The promotion has released an official poster for the event, which highlights the main event matchup with a faceoff between Hill and Rountree Jr. inside a double blue frame.
Check out the poster below, as well as the latest UFC on ABC lineup (via X):
Current UFC on ABC 8 lineup
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
41 minutes ago
- USA Today
UFC on ABC 8 predictions: Jamahal Hill or Khalil Rountree in Azerbaijan\u00a0debut?
The UFC makes its first visit to Azerbaijan this week with a former champions in the main event. UFC on ABC 8 (ABC, ESPN, ESPN+) takes place Saturday at Baku Crystal Hall in Baku. Get pick results from our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers, as well as additional analysis, below. Bogdan Grad vs. Muhammad Naimov Nikolas Motta vs. Nazim Sadykhov Tofiq Musayev vs. Myktybek Orolbai Curtis Blaydes vs. Rizvan Kuniev Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Rafael Fiziev Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. Individual staff member picks, main card Readers 75-51: Rountree (66%), Fiziev (57%), Blaydes (84%), Orolbai (78%), Sadykhov (92%), Naimov (75%) Preliminary card picks Although they don't count toward the standings, MMA Junkie staff members still pick the fights on the prelims. Here are the results:
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Ilia Topuria sees scenario in which he has shot to win titles in three UFC divisions
LAS VEGAS – It's possible Ilia Topuria's stay at lightweight will be short-lived – even if he wins the title next week. Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) meets Charles Oliveira (35-10 MMA, 23-10 UFC) for the vacant 155-pound title in the main event of UFC 317 next week at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Topuria earlier this year vacated the featherweight title so he could move to lightweight and a shot at title in a second division, even though he wasn't able to retain his 145-pound strap at the same time. Topuria reiterated Friday that he wanted a shot at former champ Islam Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC), who vacated his lightweight belt and announced a move to welterweight. He's expected to challenge new 170-pound champ Jack Della Maddalena later this year. "To be honest, I wanted to face (Makhachev) because he was the guy who was dominating anyone and everyone (at lightweight)," Topuria said Friday at a media scrum ahead of an open workout in Las Vegas. "But at the end of the day, I can't control what they do. The only thing I can control is what I do. So I wanted to move up, I wanted to fight for the title of this division. That's what I'm doing. He decided to move up also. I can't do anything else but go and fight whoever wants to fight me." Except Topuria said there maybe is something else he could do, in theory, to get a fight with Makhachev. If Makhachev, longtime protege of Khabib Nurmagomedov, wins the welterweight title, and Topuria has the lightweight belt, he might go through this whole exercise again to fight at 170 pounds. The UFC never has had a fighter win titles in three different divisions. "We'll see how he does in the welterweight division, if he wins the title and I win the title in the lightweight division. Maybe I move up or he comes down to the lightweight division and we have the fight that everyone wants to see," Topuria said. "… If Islam becomes the world welterweight champion, for sure I'm going to push for that shot and I will move to the welterweight division."
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Joe Rogan references Ilia Topuria to highlight that it's 'an amazing time for the sport'
Amidst concern over the UFC's decreasing popularity, Joe Rogan insists the sport is in a great spot. Several super fights such as Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria and Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall have either failed to materialize or are yet to materialize, leaving UFC fans frustrated. But popular podcast host and UFC commentator Rogan thinks skill and talent-wise, MMA is the best it's ever been. He used undefeated, former UFC featherweight champion Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) as an example. "Ilia Topuria, who's fighting Charles Oliveira at the end of the month – that guy is insane. That guy has knocked out two of the greatest featherweights of all time: (Alexander) Volkanovski and Max Holloway," Rogan said on a recent episode of his "Joe Rogan Experience" podcast. "Nobody could knock those guys out at featherweight before. He did, and he made it look easy. He's just on another level from everybody. Now he's moving up to 155 pounds. He decided he cleared out that division, and he's moving up. "There's guys like that, their level is above everybody else's level, and with Ilia, it's everything. It's his submissions, his kicks, his punches, everything. He can do anything. He does everything perfect. All his technique is perfect. He's f*cking driven and ultra confident. This is an amazing time for the sport, man. It's a crazy time because these guys that are coming in with like one fight in the UFC, they look like world-class contenders right away." Topuria takes on Charles Oliveira (35-10 MMA, 23-10 UFC) for the vacant lightweight title in the UFC 317 main event on June 28 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).
