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UFC Baku: Hill vs Rountree Jr lost a major fighter on its card but swiftly found a replacement. Former Bellator bantamweight champion and former UFC flyweight title challenger Kyoji Horiguchi was scheduled to make his UFC return against the No.10-ranked Tagir Ulanbekov in the event.
For yet-to-be-disclosed reasons, however, Horiguchi is out of the card. He will be replaced by Kazakh fighter Azat Maksum, who will be fighting his third bout in the promotion.
MMA journalist Marcel Dorff reported the fight card shake-up on X:
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Tagir Ulanbekov is on a three-fight winning streak, with submissions over Cody Durden and Nate Maness. His sole loss in the promotion came by way of unanimous decision against former title challenger Tim Elliot back in 2022.
As for Maksum, the 30-year-old Kazakh is 1-1 in the promotion, with his last outing a unanimous loss to Charles Johnson back in February of last year.
Jamahal Hill promises to dominate Khalil Rountree Jr at the UFC's first event in Azerbaijan
The UFC will make history by holding its first event in the Republic of Azerbaijan. The UFC Baku: Hill vs Rountree Jr. event will have a total of 10 bouts featuring numerous fighters fighting out of the region.
Aside from Ulanbekov, fighters like Muhammad Naimov, Nazim Sadykhov, and Rafael Fiziev will be on the card. Also, former interim heavyweight title challenger Curtis Blaydes will welcome promotional newcomer Rizvan Kuniev in the event. Another debuting fighter, Azerbaijan's Tofiq Musayev, will face Kyrgyzstan's Myktybek Orolbai in a three-round lightweight bout.
In the main event, former light-heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill will face former title challenger Khalil Rountree Jr in a bout that could propel either fighter back into title contention.
In an interview with Bodog Canada on YouTube, 'Sweet Dreams' made a bold prediction on how his fight with 'The War Horse' would turn out:
"I'm going in to dominate and put him away. This is what I train for and that's what I focus on every fight. It's the same. It don't switch up for me. It's just I'm looking for dominance and I'm looking to get a finish."
Check out Jamahal Hill's comments below (5:35):
Both Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree Jr are coming off losses in the promotion. Hill was TKO'd by former light-heavyweight kingpin Jiri Prochazka, his second in a row via stoppage. As for Rountree Jr, he was also TKO'd in his bid for the belt by Alex Pereira late last year.
