Tag: Jamahal Hill

Jamahal Hill embraces UFC villain role: ‘Who’s dominating the headlines?’

Former UFC champ Jamahal Hill constantly finds himself in the headlines with some negative pushback, and he’s OK with it.

[autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] constantly finds himself in the headlines, and he’s OK with it.

That’s because the former UFC light heavyweight champion has no issue expressing himself, nor does he hesitate to fire back when targeted by fans or fellow title contenders.

Hill (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) was recently in the news for his UFC Performance Institute altercation with UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.

“If ya’ll want to talk about me, talk about me, but we’re going to make sure my name stays in the right place,” Hill said in an interview with Bodog Canada. “UFC 310 just happened. Who dominated the headlines? You feel me?

“I fought one time coming up on two years. Who’s dominating the headlines? Every time they see my face, they can’t help but run to my comments section to talk about me. Who’s living in whose head, rent-free? All publicity is good publicity.”

Hill often posts his opinions on his YouTube channel, most recently addressing his arrest for allegedly assaulting his brother. He reflected on his incident with Pereira, and thinks a lot likely got lost in translation with Pereira’s head coach Plinio Cruz playing interpreter.

”After he said that last part, he (Cruz) kind of stopped translating to me, he kind of stopped translating what he was saying to me,” Hill said. “The situation ain’t even that serious, bro. It’s a fun interaction. I mean seeing that competitive fire is there, he’s down to go, I’m ready to step up and fight him.”

Hill returns to action against Jiri Prochazka (30-5-1 MMA, 4-2 UFC) in a potential No. 1 contender clash Jan. 18 at UFC 311 from Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 311.

Anthony Smith backs ‘good dude’ Jamahal Hill to beat Jiri Prochazka at UFC 311

Anthony Smith thinks Jamahal Hill gets unnecessary backlash.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] gets unnecessary backlash.

Light heavyweight contenders Smith (38-20 MMA, 13-10 UFC) and Hill became training partners after a scheduled bout between them in March 2023 fell through. “Lionheart” returns in Saturday’s UFC 310 featured prelim (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN2, Hulu, ESPN+) when he takes on Dominick Reyes (13-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Hill (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC), who runs his own YouTube channel, has never backed down from responding to critique whether from fighters, fans, or analysts. Having formed a close bond with Hill, Smith says the former UFC champion is just often misunderstood.

“I see a lot of myself in him when I was younger,” Smith told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC 310 media day. “I’d seen his talent, and he’s a good dude. The guys that are in my gym that are close to me that are like my brothers, of course, I’ll do anything I can for those guys. But I’m not out searching for guys to take under my wing to help. I’m going to help the people that are close to me that I have love for, but I’m not out trying to be a mentor.

“I just wish that people (had) seen the side of Jamahal that we see every day – the delusional Jamahal jokes. He’s passionate about his craft and he really cares. I’m media-trained, so I know how to get a point to land on the audience that I’m trying to reach, and he’s unconcerned with that. He just speaks from his heart. I think that he knows he could have performed better in his fight, so it comes off as excuse-making, but it’s just him speaking from his perspective. But that’s not the guy that we see every day. … He’s just a regular dude, and he’s a good dude.”

Hill will look to rebound from his knockout loss to light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira when he takes on Jiri Prochazka Jan. 18 at UFC 311. Having trained with Hill, Smith sees him taking out Prochazka.

“Jiri is such a pain in the ass. He’s just such a unique style and fights so free,” Smith said. “But anybody that’s as hittable as Jiri standing in front of Jamahal is going to have a bad night. That’s not jst because Jamahal’s my friend. The power that that guy carries is different. His ability to find shots is different, and you’re not going to have to work too hard to find Jiri’s head.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.

UFC champion Alex Pereira reacts to altercation with Jamahal Hill

Alex Pereira brushed off his confrontation with Jamahal Hill at the UFC Performance Institute.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] brushed off his confrontation with [autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] at the UFC Performance Institute.

Thursday, while both fighters appeared to be training at the UFC PI, Hill walked up to light heavyweight champion Pereira. That sparked a heated back-and-forth, which saw Pereira tell Hill to put on the gloves and step in the cage.

Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) was asked to give his side of the story, but barely acknowledged Hill (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC), whom he knocked out in their title fight at UFC 300.

“Well, things happen,” Pereira told MMA Junkie through an interpreter on the red carpet. “This is the first time it’s happened to me, but I’m focused on myself, focused on my thing. Right now, he should be worried about his next fight. He has a tough fight with Jiri.”

Hill meets fellow former light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka Jan. 18 at UFC 311. Meanwhile, “Poatan” is targeting a return at the end of March or April.

As for the opponent, Pereira says it could be Magomed Ankalaev.

“It seems to be – I don’t know,” Pereira said. “But like I said before, I want to make it harder for him because of all the lies he said about me so, let’s see what’s next.”

Both Hill and Prochazka have their sights set on a rematch with Pereira. UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones also wants Pereira next, and the newly crowned Fighter of the Year likes that he continues to have options.

“I’m happy to be called out by all these people – keep my name out there,” Pereira said. “People are enjoying my job. But at the end of the day, what I really want is to continue my work and keep defending my belt.”

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Jamahal Hill gives his side of Alex Pereira confrontation at UFC PI

Jamahal Hill insinuates that it’s Alex Pereira who sparked their heated altercation.

[autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] insinuates that it’s [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] who sparked their heated altercation.

Hill (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) and light heavyweight champion Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) engaged in a heated back-and-forth while both were training at the UFC Performance Institute on Thursday. That prompted Pereira to tell Hill to put on the gloves and step in the cage.

Hill’s most recent outing came in a knockout loss to Pereira at UFC 300 in April. “Sweet Dreams” shared in detail what happened between the pair at the UFC PI.

“I was at the PI earlier. Alex was there,” Hill said on his YouTube channel. “I just finished working out. He was working out, and I went to go up and have a conversation, ask him what we on? We don’t have to talk across Twitter because I’m right here. Initially, when I went up to him, it was smooth, ‘Don’t run to heavyweight, and I’m going to go ahead and handle business, and then we need to run it back.’ And in the middle of the exchange, he said something to his translator, and his translator said, ‘He said you’re still sleeping, woke up and sh*t.’ I’m wide awake now. You can get put to sleep for real. Then it kind of went to a whole fake ass, ‘Yeah, come get the gloves and go in the cage.’

“Which I replied, ‘What the f*ck we need gloves for? We’re not getting paid right now.’ I get paid to put on gloves and fight. When I’m out in a situation like that, we could throw hands right now. I’m not finna wait, take time, put no gloves on or none of that sh*t. We can just throw hands right now, and his response was just to stand there. So f*ck it, we’re going to get paid. I’m not going to ruin my bread, because here’s the thing, right: If I just reached over and hit him there and we started fighting right there, I possibly lose out on my next fight, and any opportunities I have left – restrictions now at the PI and all these other things. We get paid. We made a lot of money the first time we fought, so why would I not make a lot of money when I knock his ass out the next time?”

Hill will look to rebound when he takes on fellow ex-light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka at UFC 311 on Jan. 18. Magomed Ankalaev continues to push for the next title shot against Pereira.

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Video: Alex Pereira-Jamahal Hill confrontation at UFC PI quickly escalates

Watch Jamahal Hill and Alex Pereira square off in a tense moment at the UFC PI in Las Vegas.

When [autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] saw [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] at the UFC Peformance Institute, he kept his same energy from social media to real life.

Hill on Thursday confronted Pereira at the UFC PI in Las Vegas. To no surprise, the interaction was far from amicable as the two sized each other up with Hill doing most of the talking. At one point, Pereira can be seen signaling Hill to strap on gloves and step in the cage.

You can watch their confrontation in the video below:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DDNg4U_yTOn/

Hill and Pereira have history. The two fought this past April at UFC 300 in a light heavyweight championship fight. Although scheduled for 25 minutes, “Poatan” only needed just a little more than three minutes to knock out Hill – who has claimed Pereira’s KO was a fluke and not a real representation of a fight between them.

Since the bout, Hill and Pereira have jabbed at each other in the media and have gone back and forth on social media.

Pereira defended his UFC light heavyweight title against Khalil Roundtree in August and is expected to face Magomed Ankalaev sometime in 2025. Meanwhile, Hill was recently scheduled to fight former champion Jiri Proichazka at UFC 311 on Jan. 18 in Los Angeles.

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Jamahal Hill responds to Alex Pereira: ‘We both know the fear that was in your heart!!’

Jamahal Hill vows to meet Alex Pereria in a UFC title rematch and criticizes how he approached recent opponents.

[autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] continues to offer an interesting perspective on his first meeting against UFC champion [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag], and vows to meet him again in the octagon.

The last time Hill (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) competed was against Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) in the main event of UFC 300. Hill was knocked out a few seconds after Pereira waved off referee Herb Dean’s intervention after a low blow. Since that moment, Hill has offered plenty of commentary on what occurred inside the cage that night.

At UFC 311, Hill will have the opportunity to earn another crack at Pereira if he can get past another fellow former light heavyweight champion, Jiri Prochazka. It’s a fight “Poatan” is also keeping a close eye on.

“Calm down, my son. Pass this test, and Dad will give you a second chance,” Pereira wrote on X (formerly Twitter) in a post with a faceoff photo of Hill and Prochazka.

Soon after the social media message, Hill responded with a few words of his own, criticizing Pereira’s differences in approach to recent opponents while vowing to earn his rematch.

“Beat it funny how you rushed lil ass roundtree and dumbass Jiri like you were the man but waited until the refs got in the way to swing at me!!!” Hill wrote in a quote reply. “You will see me again at 100% soon and we both know the fear that was in your heart!!”

Since knocking out Hill, Pereira has gone on to record two more title defenses by stopping Prochazka at UFC 303 and Khalil Rountree at UFC 307.

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Jamahal Hill fires back at Jiri Prochazka ahead of UFC 311: ‘We’re not the same’

Jamahal Hill and Jiri Prochazka continue to trade barbs ahead of UFC 311.

[autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] and [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] continue to trade barbs ahead of UFC 311.

Hill (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) and Prochazka (30-5-1 MMA, 4-2 UFC) square off in a pivotal light heavyweight clash Jan. 18 at Inuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif.

Both Hill and Prochazka are coming off of knockout losses to UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. Prochazka took issue with Hill questioning his fight IQ, saying that “Sweet Dreams” showed nothing in his loss to Pereira.

Hill went off on Prochazka by comparing their losses to Pereira.

“Bro, are you kidding me?” Hill responded on his YouTube channel. “So we had the same opponent last fight, right? In your last performance, you got dominated – dominated and knocked out, completely shut down, completely exposed, and then got done bad. I got caught, (but) you got dominated. There’s a huge difference. My man literally had your ponytail leaning to the left. I hope you wear that same ponytail in L.A. so I can lean that motherf*cker to the left right back for you.

“This is insane. We’re talking about a dude that was getting his ass whopped in every fight that you’ve been in, and because you are (unintelligent), you can take some shots – and people get tired and make low-IQ moves. The only reason you became champ is because Glover (Teixeira) made a low-IQ move in a moment and you took advantage of it. Good on you – that’s why you’ll be regarded as a champ.”

Hill and Prochazka also share a common opponent in Glover Teixeira. Prochazka rallied late to submit Teixeira in their title fight at UFC 275, whereas Hill dominated the Brazilian for five rounds at UFC 283 to claim the vacant belt which Prochazka vacated.

“But you got your ass whopped for most of that (Teixeira) fight,” Hill said. “I set a record – complete domination, didn’t drop a single round – and you barely scraped by. We can talk about performances, talk about my last performance – we can go into every performance. I put on dominant performances. You survive and get a win. We’re not the same.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 311.

Jiri Prochazka rips Jamahal Hill and Magomed Anklaev ahead of UFC 311

Jiri Prochazka sent a stern warning to both Jamahal Hill and Magomed Ankalaev.

[autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] sent a stern warning to both [autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] and [autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag].

Former light heavyweight champions Prochazka (30-5-1 MMA, 4-2 UFC) and Hill (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) meet Jan. 18 at UFC 311 from Inuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. Both fighters are coming off of knockout losses to UFC champ Alex Pereira.

Prochazka is not happy with some of the words that his fellow contenders have said, with Ankalaev calling his matchup with Hill a “bar fight.”

“I’m really looking forward for my next fight,” Prochazka said in a video on “X.” “And, Jamahal, don’t speak about my performances, fight IQ and all these things because in your last fight, you didn’t show nothing really.

“And the same guy, Ankalaev, in your last three fights, you showed totally nothing. So, stay on the ground then. OK, so I’ll see you 18th of January. I’m going to win. I’m going for win. Let’s go. See you.”

Ankalaev (19-1-1 MMA, 10-1-1 UFC) fired back, reminding Prochazka of his last few outcomes. The 32-year-old is angling for a title shot against Pereira after he defeated Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 308.

“Hey why you talk about me, 2 of your last 3 fights you went to sleep, Alex made you go to sleep but I will make Alex go to sleep and I believe Jamahal Hill will make you sleep also, your new name is sleepy Jiri. Focus on your fight,” Ankalaev wrote on X.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 311.

Overreaction Time: On Conor McGregor’s new low, Jon Jones’ pound-for-pound status, more!

Check out the latest episode of “Overreaction Time” on Conor McGregor losing his sexual assault civil trial and much more.

The time for overreacting is here!

Check out the latest episode of “Overreaction Time” at noon ET/9 a.m. PT as host Simon Samano and MMA Junkie Radio host Brian “Goze” Garcia debate these “overreactions” on the following topics in mixed martial arts:

  • [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] is a disgrace to MMA.
  • There’s no way [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] should be No. 1 pound-for-pound.
  • [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] vs.[autotag] Petr Yan next?[/autotag] It’s not crazy!
  • [autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] better make a statement at UFC 311.
  • [autotag]Jake Paul[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag]? Get the f*** out of here!

Watch the full episode in the video above.

Ex-UFC champ Jamahal Hill goes off on Magomed Ankalaev: ‘I can do beef like that: F*ck you’

Jamahal Hill did not mince his words toward fellow UFC 205-pound contender Magomed Ankalaev.

[autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] did not mince his words towards fellow 205-pound contender [autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag].

Hill (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) hasn’t competed since getting knocked out by UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira at UFC 300 in April. He returns against Jiri Prochazka (30-5-1 MMA, 4-2 UFC) at UFC 311, which takes place Jan. 18 at Inuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif.

“Sweet Dreams” would love an opportunity to avenge his loss to Pereira, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s rooting for him to beat Ankalaev should the pair fight. Hill also wants to get his hands on Ankalaev (19-1-1 MMA, 10-1-1 UFC).

“I want to knock Magomed out just because to me, he’s a b*tch, and he f*cking talks like a b*tch, and reacts like a b*tch,” Hill told Inside Fighting. “I really don’t f*ck with him much at all. So f*ck him. I’d love nothing more than to put his b*tch ass to sleep. I’m not even f*cking talking to this weirdo, and he’s coming and trying to take shots at me because he’s so f*cking lame, and he sees that the fanbase kind of has a thing for me, so he kind of tries to ride that wave.

“Him and a couple of other people do that sh*t, but he’s the cheesiest f*cking one that does it. Even whenever they announced the Khalil Rountree fight vs. Pereira, I thought it should’ve been Magomed. So I said that, and this motherf*cker is trying to talk about I was crying? Hold on: I’m just saying what I’m thinking, and you acting like a b*tch like that? So f*ck him. You want real beef? I can do beef like that: F*ck you.”

Despite the spiteful words towards Ankalaev, Hill likes his chances of dethroning Pereira.

“Alex is a forward-pressure fighter, and he kind of leaves himself exposed to counters,” Hill said. “Ankalaev counters with combinations, so there will be openings for him there to land. Plus, Ankalaev’s a southpaw, so that’s another factor of the puzzle that he’s going to have to figure out. Then the wrestling from Ankalaev – I definitely give him a chance.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 311.