Curtis Blaydes vs. Rizvan Kuniev prediction, pick, start time for UFC on ABC 8
Curtis Blaydes and Rizvan Kuniev meet Saturday on the main card of UFC on ABC 8 at Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.
Last event: 5-1
UFC main cards, 2025: 57-44-1
Curtis Blaydes vs. Rizvan Kuniev UFC Baku preview
Blaydes (18-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) aims to rebound from an interim title challenge loss against Tom Aspinall last July. In the fight prior, "Razor" stopped Jailton Almeida in the second round with ground and pound, earning his fourth career Performance of the Night bonus. Throughout his entire career, Blaydes has never lost back-to-back fights. ... Kuniev (13-2-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes his UFC debut against one of the toughest tests in the division. After a first-round finish in his second appearance on Dana White's Contender Series in August, Kuniev gets an opportunity to prove himself under the UFC's bright lights.
Curtis Blaydes vs. Rizvan Kuniev UFC Baku expert pick, prediction
Filling out the main card is a fight that the UFC has been trying to put together for some time now between Curtis Blaydes and Rizvan Kuniev.
Despite Kuniev being brand new to the division, he's being matched up with one of the top-ranked perennial contenders in Blaydes.
Kuniev's best win is an overturned no-contest to Renan Ferreira, where the Sanda fighter showed some grappling chops from both positive and negative positions. That said, Kuniev will likely have a harder time getting that kind of game going against a fighter who can both match him in size and wrestling.
Blaydes has seemingly abandoned his wrestling faster than Daniel Plainview abandoned his son in recent years, but that doesn't change the fact that he's one of a literal handful of heavyweights who can actually wrestle, which counts for a lot.
I'm not picking this fight as confidently as I should be, but the pick is for Blaydes to stay safe and secure a win by unanimous decision.
Curtis Blaydes vs. Rizvan Kuniev UFC Baku odds
The oddsmakers and the public favor the American, listing Blaydes -260 and Kuniev +205 via FanDuel.
Curtis Blaydes vs. Rizvan Kuniev UFC Baku start time, how to watch
Blaydes and Kuniev are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 4:35 p.m. ET. The fight broadcasts on ABC, ESPN and ESPN+.
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Indianapolis Star
31 minutes ago
- Indianapolis Star
Will Buxton 1 on 1: Formula 1 regret leads to exploring America through calling IndyCar races
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an hour ago
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UFC Tonight: What Time Does The UFC Baku Fight Card Start?
BAKU, AZERBAIJAN - JUNE 20: (L-R) Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree Jr. face off during the UFC ... More Fight Night ceremonial weigh-ins at Baku Crystal Hall on June 20, 2025 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC) The UFC Baku fight card goes down today at Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan. In the main event of the UFC on ABC card, former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill faces recent 205-pound title challenger Khalil Rountree Jr. Meanwhile, in the co-main event of the UFC Fight Night card, Rafael Fiziev and Ignacio Bahamondes face off in the lightweight scrap. UFC Baku Fight Card: Date, Time, Location, How To Watch Or Stream Date: Saturday, June 21, 2025 Location: Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan Main Card Start Time: 3:00 p.m. ET on ABC Preliminary Card Start Time: Noon ET on ESPN2 UFC Baku Main Card Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. - Light Heavyweight Rafael Fiziev vs. Ignacio Bahamondes - Lightweight Curtis Blaydes vs. Rizvan Kuniev - Heavyweight Tofiq Musayev vs. Myktybek Orolbai - Lightweight Nazim Sadykhov vs. Nikolas Motta - Lightweight Muhammad Naimov vs. Bogdan Grad - Featherweight UFC Baku Preliminary Card Seokhyeon Ko vs. Oban Elliott - Welterweight Ismail Naurdiev vs. Junyong Park - Middleweight Melissa Mullins vs. Daria Zheleznyakova - Women's bantamweight Irina Alekseeva vs. Klaudia Syguła- Women's bantamweight Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Azat Maksum - Flyweight Hamdy Abdelwahab vs. Mohammed Usman - Heavyweight UFC Baku Main Event: Jamahal Hill Vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. BAKU, AZERBAIJAN - JUNE 20: Jamahal Hill poses on the scale during the UFC Fight Night official ... More weigh-ins at Hilton Baku on June 20, 2025 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC) Jamahal Hill (12-3-0-1) had a 5-0 record when he appeared on a Dana White Contender Series card in July 2019. He won that fight against Alexander Poppeck by TKO in the third round. The victory earned him a UFC contract. Hill made his official UFC debut in January 2020, winning a decision over Darko Stosic on the main card of an ESPN+ event at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. He then faced Klidson Abreu in May 2020. He initially won that bout by first-round TKO, but the result was later overturned to a no-contest because Hill tested positive for marijuana He followed that fight with a December 2020 TKO over former interim light heavyweight title challenger Ovince Saint Preux. Hill's unbeaten streak ended in his next trip to the Octagon, when Paul Craig ended their June 2021 fight in under two minutes by TKO. Hill bounced back from that loss by rattling off three straight 'Performance of the Night' bonus-winning knockouts. That run earned him a shot at then-champion Glover Teixeira. Hill put on a striking clinic in that fight, battering Teixeira over five rounds to earn a one-sided decision win and the UFC 205-pound crown. That fight headlined UFC 283 in January 2023. Misfortune ended Hill's title reign. In July 2023, he suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon during a UFC fighter basketball game. He relinquished the title and underwent surgery to repair the injury. Hill returned at UFC 300 in a matchup against UFC light heavyweight champ Alex Pereira. Pereira ended that fight via knockout at the 3:14 mark of the first round. Hill returned to the Octagon at UFC 311 when he faced former champ Jiri Prochazka on the main card. Prochazka ended that bout via TKO at 3:01 of Round 3. Hill, the No. 4 ranked UFC light heavyweight, has seven wins by knockout and five decision victories. His three losses have come via knockout. BAKU, AZERBAIJAN - JUNE 20: Khalil Rountree Jr. poses on the scale during the UFC Fight Night ... More official weigh-ins at Hilton Baku on June 20, 2025 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC) Khalil Rountree Jr. (13-6-0-1) joined the UFC in July 2016 when a loss to Andrew Sanchez in the season finale of The Ultimate Fighter dropped him to 4-1 as a pro. A submission loss to Tyson Pedro followed Rountree's defeat to Sanchez. However, Rountree went 3-0-0-1 after that setback, scoring three knockout wins in his victories. A knockout loss to Johnny Walker, who Rountree was favored to beat, ended his unbeaten streak. A decision victory over Eryk Anders in April 2019 got Rountree back in the win column, but a TKO loss to Ion Cutelaba and a decision setback against Marcin Prachnio followed. In September 2021, the UFC matchmakers booked Rountree against Modestas Bukauskas. He won that scrap via TKO. That win was the first of five consecutive victories for Rountree. Rountree was scheduled to face former UFC light heavyweight champ Jamahal Hill in June, but a self-reported drug test failure knocked him from that card. The Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended Rountree 4.5 months for that drug test failure. When Rountree returned to action it was at UFC 307 in the main event of the pay-per-view card opposite then-UFC 205-pound champion Alex Pereira. Pereira battered Rountree before ending the fight via TKO in the fourth round. Rountree has nine knockout wins and four decision victories. His losses have come by knockout (three), submission (one) and decision (two). He is the No. 7 ranked competitor in the UFC's 205-pound weight class. We will have full fight card results, reactions and highlights for the UFC Baku fight card on fight night.
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an hour ago
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UFC Baku live updates: Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. results, round-by-round analysis and highlights
Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. headlines UFC Baku on Saturday at the Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan. Uncrowned has UFC Baku live results, round-by-round updates, start time and highlights for the Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. fight card on Saturday morning at the Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan. Former UFC light heavyweight champion Hill squares off against recent title challenger Rountree in the afternoon's five-round main event, while longtime lightweight contender Rafael Fiziev looks to fend off hard-charging up-and-comer Ignacio Bahamondes in the co-headliner. Hill (12-3, 1 NC) finds himself in dire need of a win after dropping back-to-back contests since his 2023 title win over Glover Teixeira. The 34-year-old Chicago native was forced to vacate his title in July 2023 after suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon while playing pickup basketball. He subsequently lost his April 2024 return against then-champion Alex Pereira via first-round knockout, then sustained a brutal third-round knockout loss to fellow former champion Jiri Prochazka this past January. Advertisement One more loss in a row for Hill and his time in the title picture could be over for the foreseeable future. Rountree (13-6, 1 NC), likewise, aims to bounce back after falling short in a four-round thriller against Pereira in October. The 35-year-old Los Angeles native ultimately lost in his first UFC title opportunity, however his back-and-forth battle with Pereira made Uncrowned's short list as one of 2024's best fights of the year. Prior to that, Rountree racked up a five-fight win streak that included brutal knockouts of Anthony Smith, Chris Daukaus, Karl Roberson and Modestas Bukauskas. Advertisement In the co-main event, Fiziev (12-4) looks to snap his own three-fight losing skid when he takes on the streaking Bahamondes (17-5), who's won six of his past seven UFC appearances. The UFC Baku start time for the preliminary card is at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and ESPN+. The main card begins live at 3 p.m. ET on ABC and ESPN+. Follow along with Uncrowned's live UFC Baku: Hill vs. Rountree results, highlights and live blog below, including round-by-round play-by-play for the main card. Main Card (ABC/ESPN+, 3 p.m. ET) Light heavyweight: Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree Lightweight: Rafael Fiziev vs. Ignacio Bahamondes Advertisement Heavyweight: Curtis Blaydes vs. Rizvan Kuniev 165-pound catchweight: Tofiq Musayev vs. Myktybek Orolbai Lightweight: Nazim Sadykhov vs. Nikolas Motta Featherweight: Muhammad Naimov vs. Bogdan Grad Prelims (ESPN2/ESPN+, 12 p.m. ET) Welterweight: Seokhyun Ko vs. Oban Elliott Middleweight: Ismail Naurdiev vs. Jun Yong Park Women's bantamweight: Daria Zhelezniakova vs. Melissa Mullins Women's bantamweight: Irina Alekseeva vs. Klaudia Sygula Flyweight: Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Azat Maksum Heavyweight: Hamdy Abdelwahab vs. Mohammed Usman
