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There’s a lot on the line between Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC Azerbaijan.
Former UFC light heavyweight title challengers Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree Jr. nearly got into a recent altercation at the UFC Performance Institute. But according to Hill, he wasn’t the one initiating any hostility between the two UFC Azerbaijan opponents.
Hill and Rountree will headline an intriguing card on June 21 in Baku, Azerbaijan, featuring two of the light heavyweight division’s most powerful contenders. Both fighters are looking to secure another title shot against the winner of the expected Magomed Ankalaev vs. Alex Pereira rematch.
In a matchup that’s been rescheduled multiple times, Hill and Rountree are ready for war next month. But ahead of the upcoming UFC Fight Night card, the two light heavyweights shared a tense moment while in the same vicinity, preparing for the fight.
Jamahal Hill reveals tense run-in with Khalil Rountree Jr. ahead of UFC Azerbaijan
Hill is no stranger to tense run-ins with some of his rivals in Las Vegas. Ahead of Pereira’s matchup with Ankalaev at UFC 313, Hill and Pereira nearly got into a full-on fistfight at the UFC PI in a viral incident.
According to Hill, a similar moment happened between him and Rountree.
During a recent interview with The Schmo, Hill shared a tense moment between himself and Rountree at the UFC PI ahead of their upcoming five-round fight.
“The only time that we did have an interaction, it was weird,” Hill explained. “So I was in the [UFC PI], walked into the locker room, and I’ll say ‘What’s up’ to anybody. And I walked into the locker room and he’s like, ‘Man, you really don’t like me do you?’…and I was like what? And he was like ‘You really don’t like me, do you?’
“I was like ‘I don’t even know you, we haven’t even had a conversation’.
“It’s almost like he’s gotta build me up as this villain or this person that he hates, which is fine with me, but whenever you start putting the energy off the UFC staff and s— like that like we can’t be around each other, or something’s going to happen, you’re not going to do s—. So what’s the point of that? It’s weird to me.”
Hill and Rountree were supposed to headline UFC Kansas City last month before the fight was scratched on weeks’ notice. The event was headlined by a welterweight matchup between top contenders Ian Machado Garry and Carlos Prates, with Garry earning a unanimous decision win.
Rountree hasn’t fought since losing to Pereira at UFC 307 last October in his first-career UFC light heavyweight title shot. Meanwhile, Hill is looking to bounce back after a TKO loss to Jiri Prochazka at UFC 311.
Alex Pereira quells retirement fears after blaming bizarre social media post on a hack job
Meanwhile, Pereira raised eyebrows on Wednesday when he tweeted a critical message about Dana White and the UFC brass, threatening to potentially retire after tense negotiations. But it turns out that Pereira wasn’t the one who posted the tweet, later clarifying that his social media accounts were hacked by an unknown party.
Pereira and Ankalaev verbally agreed to an immediate rematch shortly after UFC 313. Since then, Ankalaev has questioned Pereira’s desire to fight, hinting at the UFC superstar potentially hanging up the gloves.
For now, Pereira remains on course to face Ankalaev in a light heavyweight title rematch. But Hill and Rountree have the chance to skip the line with a standout performance this summer.
