Khalil Rountree Jr. delivered a dominant performance in the UFC Baku headliner, scoring a unanimous decision W over former light heavyweight titleholder Jamahal Hill.
Rountree came out looking especially lethargic, perhaps already trying to play mind games with the former light heavyweight champion. For the most part, both fighters were very cautious in the first five minutes, landing some leg kicks and keeping their distance from one another.
The low kicks from Rountree started to pay dividends in the second, as Hill was showing some significant swelling on his right leg. ‘The War Horse’ landed another thudding one early on that nearly put Hill on the mat.
Rountree really started to take over in the third, knocking Hill to the mat twice, first with a counter left followed by a big right hook late in the stanza. Rountree nearly planted Hill on the canvas with another left hook in the fourth, but ‘Sweet Dreams’ got his guard up just in time.
The fifth round saw Hill attempt to pick up the pace, but with a compromised lead leg, he was unable to muster much power in his output, allowing Rountree to coast to a decisive victory on the scorecards.
Official Result: Khalil Rountree Jr. def. Jamahal Hill via unanimous decision (49-46, 50-45, 50-45)
Check Out Highlights From Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC Baku:
