Jamahal
Hill wasn’t originally supposed to be in a headlining bout at
UFC Fight Night 201, but he didn’t let the transition to a
potential five-round affair affect him.
As it turned out, “Sweet Dreams” didn’t need to go into deep
waters. Hill authored an emphatic finish on Saturday night,
knocking out Johnny
Walker with an overhand right — and one follow-up blow — 2:55
into the first round of their light heavyweight feature at the UFC
Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
“I just treated it like the fight hadn’t changed,” Hill said at
Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I was already confident
when I took the fight as a main event. I was already confident. I
had already put the work in. I was feeling good about how the fight
would go.
“[The UFC] adding rounds and adding the main event, I didn’t let
that bother me. That’s what I told myself. It’s still the same
fight. Don’t put anything extra anything on it. Take what it is,
just another fight.”
At 6-foot-5, Walker was the rare opponent who had a height
advantage over the 6-foot-4 Hill. Couple that with the Brazilian’s
four first-round finishes in UFC competition, and it made for a
tantalizing matchup for violence enthusiasts. While Walker had his
moments in the early going, Hill was able to find the right opening
to strike the decisive blow.
“I was just being patient,” Hill said. “He’s a long guy, he’s big,
he’s been working. He had some nice set ups, some little tricks
when we were going. He felt strong whenever he tried to put me
down. Just stay with it and flow. Keep flowing, keep going with it
and I know eventually, I’ll find my spot.
“Initially whenever it landed, I saw him kind of wobble and
stumble. Whenever I saw him wobble like that and go back, I knew to
get in and put another one on him and finish him.”
Since joining the UFC after earning a contract on Dana White’s
Contender Series in July 2019, Hill has lost just once in six
Octagon appearance — though a victory over Klidson
Abreu in May 2020 was overturned by the Nevada State Athletic
Commission. Regardless, he looks like a fresh contender in a
notoriously shallow weight class.
“I feel like the division is a little tired,” Hill said. “Some guys
need some naps. ‘Sweet Dreams’ is here to provide them.”
Hill’s ideal opponent would be light heavyweight No. 1 contender
Jiri
Prochazka, who is scheduled to face reigning champion Glover
Teixeira in a title bout at UFC 274 on May 7. Outside of the
former Rizin title holder, no potential opponent really catches
Hill’s eye at this point in time.
“The reason I want Jiri so bad, I feel like that’s a fight from
both ends, it would be a banger,” Hill said. “I think it would be
promoted well and not too many other people have that star ability
like that. I feel like I talk well. I feel like I dress well. I
feel like I fight well. So I feel like I’ve got that swag. I feel
like he was one of those guys.”