UFC Baku Headliner Khalil Rountree Jr. made an opponent pay for their self-assured pre-Vecht comments.
Before the edition of UFC International Fight Week in Las Vegas this year, the promotion is planned for a debut event abroad.
The Octagon is in Azerbaijan for the first time, where Jamahal Hill and Rountree Jr. UFC Baku will end in an important collision of top light heavyweight contenders.
Rountree Jr. Van Alex Pereira lost in his first title shot at UFC 307 last year. He is now looking to immediately bounce back and make a statement to re -adjust his name in the championship photo.
And he could certainly do worse than the destructive performance he did on July 7, 2018.
Khalil Rountree Jr. ran through Gokhan Saki after he laughed at his striking
Following back-to-back knockouts against Daniel Jolly and Paul Craig, Rountree Jr. His momentum blocked by Michal Oleksiejczuk at the end of 2017, whose decision profit was later destroyed into a no-competition.
Not many predicted 'The War Horse' to return to his powerful striking finishes, given who he was tailored to the next UFC 226: former kickboxing world champion Gokhan Saki.
The Turkish-Dutch hunter was only two periods in his MMA career, but Saki brutally announced his UFC arrival and Henrique da Silva stopped debut in one round.
Despite his inexperience, 'The Rebel' was not a shortage of trust, especially considering how he was the stand-up game of Rountree Jr. saw.
“You will see someone drowning in the water someday? They get into the wild everywhere,” Saki told Themaclife. “That is his striking.
“The only thing he can do is hope for happiness. A happy attack. But with me this hope of happiness is as if I hope to win the lottery. Keep hoping, you will only fool yourself.”
Those comments came back to bite Saki.
Come fight Night, Rountree ran through the kickboxer and let him fall right left before he closes the show with Hammerfists on the floor after just 96 seconds. Saki has not participated in MMA since then.
The UFC Baku opponent of Khalil Rountree Jr. Has not won for more than two years
Hill won four fights successively between 2021 and 2023, with the last victory over that run and saw him dominate Glover Teixeira to win the empty UFC light heavyweight belt.
But after a serious injury, he has lowered the American's government, he has unable to reclaim his best form and regain the gold of 205 pounds.
Hill's first round knockout against Alex Pereira last year caused a brutal setback, before Jiri Prochazka stopped him in their collision last January to give a further blow to the title of the 34-year-old.
With those results in mind, a return to the kind of displays in which he was sent from Johnny Walker and Thiago Santos on Saturday is essential for Hill in Baku on Saturday.
Champion Magomed Ankalaev must both Hill and Rountree Jr. Meeting, which means that the winner at UFC Baku could find another chance to return to the throne earlier instead of returning later.