Alex Pereira is UFC’s newly-minted Light Heavyweight champion after stopping Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295 earlier this month (watch highlights), but he’ll have to get past Jamahal Hill to cement his place as the undisputed king of the 205-pound division.
Hill was forced to vacate the title after rupturing his Achilles tendon in a UFC-sponsored pick-up basketball game during “International Fight Week.” Pereira then snatched it at the expense of “Denisa,” another former champion who also injured himself so badly he was forced to drop the belt. All this strange business will come to an end when Pereira and Hill scrap sometime in 2024.
It’s a battle that Hill promises will take place on the feet.
“Whenever I do fight him, standing, I will knock him out,” Hill said in a video on his YouTube channel. “And and when I do, I’m going to rub it in every single one of y’all’s face.”
Pereira responded to that claim in a recent YouTube Q&A, questioning whether “Sweet Dreams” will even be his next opponent.
“Sure, every guy who could be the next [challenger] for the champion will start talking, but I think he’s a little bit [overconfident],” the Brazilian said through a translator. “I never said I will knock someone out or whatever because you are in a fight camp, you prepare yourself, you have to focus on the fight, and I always say I will give you guys a good fight and a good show. But predicting what happens is a little bit difficult and I think he’s a little bit [overconfident] with everything that he’s saying.
“I think it’s just a little bit too much [for him] as well, looking at my story, my history in kickboxing, to say, ‘I will stand striking and I will knock him out,’” he continued. “Because all the people are always trying it and I’m sure he wants to strike, but when he sees it’s not working, he will go on the ground as well. This is what happened in the other fights too. I think Jamahal is a good fight for me, and I think he was a little bit [overconfident] with his statement.”
Timing is the big factor in whether Pereira vs. Hill is next. An Achilles injury can take around nine months to heal properly, and then you have to factor in training camp time. If Pereira wants to compete again before summer 2024 (and he’s talking like he wants a fight as soon as possible), someone else could end up fighting for the title before Hill.
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