When the
Ultimate Fighting Championship came calling to offer him a spot
atop the promotion’s 300th event, Jamahal
Hill jumped at the opportunity.
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Hill is set to return to action for the first time since January
2023 when he meets current light heavyweight king Alex
Pereira in the UFC
300 main event on April 13 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The bout seemingly came together at the last minute, as it was
announced by Dana White at the conclusion of
UFC 298 on Saturday night.
“I’m at a loss for words,” Hill said in a backstage interview with
the UFC. “For them to have that trust that I could come and show up
and put on a main event that’s worthy of a card of this magnitude
motivates me and fires me up. It fires my team up. We’re ready to
go. The time off has also fired me up. I’m just ready to go. I’m
ready to get back in there.
“You always want to be appreciated for your work and the things
that you sacrifice,” he added. “That’s all that is them rewarding
it and showing their appreciation for it. And showing their belief
in me as a fighter, in the personality and who I can be for this
company.”
Hill defeated Glover Texeira at UFC 283 in January 2023 to capture
the vacant light heavyweight crown. His reign was short-lived,
however, as a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered in a pickup
basketball game forced him to relinquish the belt.
“I haven’t been able to do this for a year,” Hill said. “I’ve been
having to sit on the sidelines watching other people live their
dream. My dream has been put on hold. So the biggest thing is just
taking it all in and appreciating the blessing.”
Hill says he is fully recovered from the injury. Now it’s just a
matter of getting in fight shape and preparing to face Pereira in a
little less than two months.
“I’ve been back training full speed for the last couple few weeks
now. It’s been good,” Hill said. “You’ve got to build your
conditioning, your cardio and things back up. For me, mine never
falls off too far. It’s just a couple sessions of diving back into
it, hard work, and we’re back rolling.”
Pereira has accomplished quite a bit in a short period of time
since transitioning to MMA. The former Glory two-division champion
was a UFC champion at middleweight before successfully moving to
205 pounds and claiming the strap vacated by Hill with a win over
Jiri
Prochazka at UFC 295 this past November.
“I think he’s a great champion,” Hill said. “He’s been a champion
in two different divisions. He’s shown his pedigree and who he is
as a combat athlete in both sports. I respect him as an athlete. I
respect him as a man, as a father. I’m excited for the challenge.
He’s ready to put on a show. He’s not scared. He comes to throw
down and that’s exactly what I’m down for.”
While Hill respects Pereira, he is more than confident in his
ability to emerge victorious when they square off in the
Octagon.
“April 13 I’m gonna come out and I’m gonna show dominance,” Hill
said. “I’m gonna show y’all who the best light heavyweight in the
world is and leave no doubt, no questions. After that, it’s on to
the next.”