To say that mixed martial arts fans were disappointed with the
announcement of the UFC
300 main event would be an understatement.
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After all,
UFC CEO Dana White had promised a mind-blowing headliner, but
instead, the revelation of the Alex
Pereira vs. Jamahal
Hill feature was almost buried at the conclusion of last
Saturday’s
UFC 298 event.
While the main event might lack the “wow” factor that was expected,
UFC 300 is nonetheless one of the deepest cards in recent memory.
Hill, who will be making his return from a ruptured Achilles
tendon, doesn’t understand the criticism.
“There’s been a lot of outrage, a lot of disappointment and things
like that,” Hill said on his YouTube channel. “To be honest, it’s
crazy to me because for the most part a lot of these people are the
same people that have spent the better part of a year or however
long calling me ‘cry baby,’ but it’s crazy to see how a card can be
stacked—the main card literally has a former champion or champion
in every single fight and some even facing former champions. In
every single fight in the main card, each one of the prelims is
worthy of being its own separate main event and people are crying.
Like, let’s really be real. It’s really, really crying because you
had unreal expectations for something.
“Now granted, I think Dana did overstep with some of the comments
that he made, but he had every intention on delivering on those
comments. As you know, anybody who’s followed the UFC for some
time, whenever Dana tries to tell you he’s trying to deliver
something, he wouldn’t talk like that if he wasn’t trying to
deliver something that you people would feel is mind-blowing or
otherworldly. Instead, you got one of the most technical,
guaranteed banger of a fights that you could ask for at this time
with serious implications in historically one of the best weight
divisions in the UFC. And people are complaining.”
According to Hill, expectations were so high at one point that
virtually nothing that was announced would have been satisfactory.
He also claims that there were plenty of fans requesting that he
fight Pereira at UFC 300 before the bout was confirmed.
“It’s funny though. I think I saw one comment that said, ‘I was
expecting Conor vs. Jesus Himself,’ Hill said. “At this point, now
I’m convinced that wouldn’t have been enough. Y’all could have got
Mario vs. King Kong, y’all could have got Wolverine vs. Iron Man, you
could have gotten anything, Hulk vs. Superman, Spider-Man vs.
Batman, you could have got any of this and you wouldn’t have been
happy. So all I can say as far as the whole ‘this is a
disappointment’ and it not being worthy of this spot and things
like that is that’s crazy.
“Whenever you pay for a fight, do you not want somebody who’s
coming to take somebody’s head off? To knock somebody out that has
very, very, very high-level skills and the capability of doing so.
You’ve got that on both ends in this fight. I put it on the line
every time. Every single fight, go and watch any fight, I’m coming
forward, I’m putting it all on the line, I’m taking risks, and I’m
giving everything for the show. For the disrespect to flood in the
way that it is about a fight that a lot of people have asked for …
I’m going to keep it a thousand, I was there, I did the fan
experience in Anaheim. That’s all people were asking. That’s all
people wanted. A lot of fans, a lot of true, true fans, that’s what
they wanted. They wanted this for UFC 300.”
Hill will be making his first Octagon appearance since UFC 283 in
January 2023, when he outdueled Glover
Teixeira to claim the then-vacant light heavyweight title.
Pereira has since captured 205-pound gold, and the fight comes with
a built-in storyline, as Teixeira is the new champion’s mentor. For
his part, Hill has no doubt that the fight will deliver.
“People are going to say whatever they’re going to say,” Hill said.
“I already know how my fights are and how my fights affect people.
Whenever I step in that cage, y’all will be watching. It will be
entertaining and it’s going to be action. You already know how I’m
coming every single fight, and it’s must see TV. Same with Alex
Pereira. We both put it on the line. We’ve shown you who we are
through blood, sweat and tears. I have true belief that the true
fans, which I believe that pool runs very, very deep in the
community, they will lock in and they know exactly what they’re
getting in this fight. 100%.”