Tomorrow night in the headliner of UFC 283, the vacant light heavyweight title is on the line. Former champion Glover Teixeira (33-8) will try to regain gold on home soil as he takes on “Sweet Dreams” Jamahal Hill (11-1, 1 NC).
It’s a little crazy how we got to this point. At UFC 282, Jiri Prochazka was supposed to defend his title against Glover Teixeira in a rematch of arguably the fight of the year last year. Then, Prochazka injured his shoulder to the point where he vacated the belt.
Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev fought to a draw for the vacant title and the UFC pivoted to this matchup tomorrow night. Now, Teixeira gets the opportunity that was his all along in getting his title fight, the only thing new is the opponent.
Jamahal Hill was supposed to headline a March Fight Night against Anthony Smith. However, on the heels of three straight knockout wins, he was the next in line to fight for the title.
UFC 283 Prediction
When it comes down to the fight, we already know the game plan of both men. Jamahal Hill wants to keep this fight standing and at range while Glover wants to close the distance and use his grappling. However, nobody should sleep on Teixeira’s striking as Jiri Prochazka found out in the fifth round of their fight.
If Jamahal Hill wins this fight by knockout in the first couple of rounds, I wouldn’t be that surprised. We already know that he has sensational power and he has the skills to get this done. However, there’s part of me that’s real hesitant to pick him to become UFC champion tomorrow night.
While people could certainly point to the Thiago Santos as a fight he had to dig down deep in, I don’t think he had to dig nearly as deep as he will with Teixeira. Teixeira is going to make this fight extremely tough and we are going to learn a lot about Jamahal Hill at UFC 283.
I’m going to pick 43-year-old Glover Teixeira in this one. I just believe that he will be able to impose his will enough to break Hill by the championship rounds. Teixeira gets a big takedown and lands massive shots from a dominant position that gives him the TKO win and the light heavyweight championship in front of a packed arena in Brazil.
Prediction: Glover Teixeira by TKO – Round 4