Jamahal Hill And Khalil Rountree Jr. Headline UFC’s Return To Kansas City

Hill is seeking his first win since he captured UFC gold over Glover Teixeira in January 2023. “Sweet Dreams” vacated the belt later that year when a torn Achilles left him out of action, but he bounced back to top the UFC 300 bill opposite Pereira although “Poatan” knocked Hill out in the first round. The former champion tried to bounce back quickly later that year before injury prevented him from doing so. He eventually returned at UFC 311 and fought valiantly against Jiří Procházka until the fellow former champion stopped Hill midway through the third round. 

Rountree Jr. got his chance at the title in somewhat surprising fashion, but his 5-fight winning streak he amassed beforehand spoke to his deservedness. When he fought Pereira at UFC 307, Rountree Jr. fought very well and took two of the first three rounds on the judges’ scorecards. Unfortunately, Pereira found his rhythm and stopped Rountree Jr. in the fourth round. However, Rountree Jr. absolutely earned the respsect of anyone who watched the fight and proved he could very well hang with the best light heavyweights in the world. 

Joining the two on the card is a co-main event between veteran former title challenger Anthony Smith and rising Chinese knockout artist Zhang Mingyang. Smith is coming off a tough 2024 in which he lost his last two fights to Dominick Reyes and Roman Dolidze. He did, however, score a submission win at UFC 301 against Vitor Petrino, cementing the fact that he remains a dangerous threat at 205 pounds. However, the bout, which will mark Smith’s 60th professional fight, is likely the last for “Lionheart.” He isn’t getting an easy task, either, as Zhang is on the hottest of streaks. “Mountain Tiger” has won 11 fights in a row, including his first two Octagon appearences that came in 2024. On top of that, each of his 17 wins came in the first round. In fact, just two of his 23 professional fights went past the first frame, and only one went to the judges’ scorecards. A win over Smith with put him on the fast-track toward a top-tier matchup later in 2025.

Featherweights get in on the main card fun as well. Giga Chikadze and David Onama will square off in what is expected to be a fun fight between two strikers. Chikadze is looking to get things back on track after dropping his lone fight of 2024 to Arnold Allen at UFC 304. The 36-year-old went into that fight having won eight of his last nine fights in the Octagon and remains one of the most dangerous strikers, and particularly, kickers, in the UFC. The fight represents the biggest opportunity to date for Onama, whose only two losses in seven Octagon appearances came in his debut a weightclass up against Mason Jones and in a Fight of the Year contender opposite Nate Landwehr in August 2022. Outside of those results, Onama has been lights out, collecting three wins via finish. 

A pair of middleweight contests round out the main card. First, the dynamic Michel Pereira faces Abus Magomedov. Pereira is keen to get back in the winner’s circle after his 8-fight winning streak was snapped in a main event against Anthony Hernandez last year. Meanwhile, Magomedov is hoping to restablish himself as a middleweight on the rise after picking up two wins in 2024. 

The other middleweight contest arriving in Kansas City is between Ikram Aliskerov and Andre Muniz. Aliskerov stumbled in his late-notice assignment against Robert Whittaker in Saudi Arabia, but he is still seen as a rising threat in the division. The bout is Muniz’s first since December 2023, when he snapped his 2-fight losing skid with a split decision win over Jun-Yong Park at UFC Fight Night: Song vs Gutiérrez. 

Stay tuned to UFC.com for any announcements and updates regarding fights and events.