This past Saturday night in the main event of UFC 300, the light heavyweight title was on the line. Jamahal Hill (12-2, 1 NC) was looking to regain the light heavyweight title that he never lost inside the octagon as he took on the champion Alex Pereira (10-2).
Hill won the title in January 2023 after destroying Glover Teixeira over the course of five rounds. However, later in the year, Hill tore his achilles which forced him to vacate the title. During that time, Poatan won the title by knocking out Jiri Prochazka which setup this showdown on Saturday night.
Hill was adamant before the fight that he would knock out the world class kickboxer if this fight stayed on the feet. Of course, that’s where Pereira wanted the fight as well so you had to figure going into the fight that someone would be going to sleep at UFC 300.
Throughout the first half of the first round, both men were just feeling the fight out and gauging the range. Hill threw a low kick just at the three minute mark that landed on the cup. Herb Dean went to pause the action but Pereira waved him off. Seconds later, Pereira landed his signature left hook and dropped Hill. A few follow up shots landed after and Pereira retained his UFC title by first round stoppage.
What’s next after UFC 300?
Give Jamahal Hill credit. He said he was going to stand and trade with Pereira and that’s exactly what he did. Unfortunately, he met the same fait that so many other have when they’ve traded with Pereira. He dared to be great and do something special and came up short. Now, the former UFC champion will go back to the drawing board.
Hill took to social media and seemed to be in good spirits after the loss. He started targeting his next fight and he wants to fight the man who scored a huge win in the featured prelim. He wants a fight with former UFC champion Jiri Prochazka.
However, I don’t see that happening for Hill next. The promotion will likely go with Magomed Ankalaev or Jiri Prochazka for the next title shot. Hell, I could see a title shot being the next fight for both men. With Pereira wanting to be very active, I could see Ankalaev getting a summer title fight and if Pereira wins, perhaps him and Prochazka run it back in the fall at MSG.
If that’s the case, I think the UFC goes in a different direction for Jamahal Hill. I would actually love to see Jamahal Hill face either Aleksandar Rakic or Jan Blachowicz next. Rakic lost after performing well against Prochazka and a recovering Blachowicz is coming off a loss to Alex Pereira. They are in a similar position as Hill and whoever would win that kinda matchup would be on the shortlist for a title shot in early 2025.