It should come as little shock that every Brazilian prognosticator
expects Alex
Pereira will prevail on Saturday.
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship will be staging its blockbuster
show of UFC
300 on Saturday, and two ultra-popular Brazilian competitors
will be competing on the main card. Light heavyweight kingpin
Pereira (9-2) will be defending his throne against Jamahal
Hill (12-1, 1 NC), while ex-lightweight champ Charles
Oliveira (34-9, 1 NC) competes in a no. 1 contender bout
against Arman
Tsarukyan (21-3). Sherdog spoke to numerous fighters and
coaches about the main attraction, with the field unanimous in
support of their fellow countryman.
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Charles
Oliveira: “Jamahal
Hill is bluffing when he says he will keep the fight standing
with ‘Poatan.’ His strategy is to take him down. If he exchanges
punches with ‘Poatan,’ he will be knocked out. ‘Poatan’ is hungry
and wants to avenge Glover
[Teixeira’s] loss to him.”
Patricky
Freire, former Bellator
MMA champion: “I think this fight will be easier for [Pereira]
than [against] Jiri
[Prochazka]. I believe Hill will try to take him down, but even
if he gets [Pereira] down, the guy is training with Glover every
day and, as Glover says, it’s hard to keep him down. When the fight
returns standing, Hill will end up having problems with the
champion’s striking game.”
Vitor
Miranda, former UFC fighter, UFC Fight Pass commentator: “I see
Jamahal with a very similar boxing game than Jiri. He uses a long
jab and straight. Hill has dangerous counter punches so it will be
important for ‘Poatan’ to use his footwork. I see ‘Poatan’ winning
via KO.”
Carlos
Barreto, former UFC fighter, UFC Fight Pass commentator:
“Jamahal is probably the worst challenge ‘Poatan’ has faced. The
guy has real knockout power. Besides that, he is a southpaw, and
it’s important to remember that when [Israel]
Adesanya played changing stances to southpaw, he brought more
problems to ‘Poatan.’ I see ‘Poatan’ as the slight favorite, but
Hill must be respected.”
Andre
Pederneiras, Nova Uniao co-founder: “I used to say ‘Poatan’
came from a different planet. Someone who trained MMA for such a
short period coming from kickboxing and doing what he did, it’s not
normal. In a complex sport like MMA, to reach what that guy has
reached. He was born to be a champion. I don’t like to bet, but if
I had to, I would put my money on ‘Poatan.’”
Rafael
Cordeiro, Kings MMA founder: “Jamahal is good but never faced
such a high-level striker. ‘Poatan’ is a different animal. I think
he will surprise Hill with a counter cross punch.”
Ricardo
Liborio, former American Top Team head coach: “’Poatan’ has a
perfect style to control the distance and beat Hill. I truly see
‘Poatan’ having much more chances to win than Oliveira at UFC
300.”
Jayme Sandall, former karate coach of Vitor
Belfort: “As a striking specialist, I must admire ‘Poatan.’
Even considering that he exposes himself too much, but he always
impresses me. He is the best guy to see fighting MMA today. I think
Hill will respect his hands and [Pereira] will keep his belt and
have a long reign in UFC.”
Mano Santana, karate coach of Rodolfo
Vieira: “It’s gonna be another tough test for ‘Poatan.’ I think
Hill will try to surprise him like Jiri did in the first round with
a takedown. But I see ‘Poatan’ as the favorite.”