Undisputed UFC light heavyweight champion, Jamahal Hill has issued a stark and frank warning to former middleweight gold holder, Alex Pereira ahead of the Brazilian’s impending climb to the 205lbs division.
Hill, a product of Dana White’s Contender Series, became the first fighter from the format to land Octagon gold back in January of this year in the main event of UFC 283, landing a one-sided unanimous decision victory over former champion and Pereira’s training partner, Glover Teixeira.
As for Pereira, the Sao Paulo native headlined UFC 287 back in April against arch-rival, Israel Adesanya suffering his first loss in the pair’s four-fight professional combat sports series, in the form of a spectacular second round one-punch knockout loss in Miami, Florida.
And in the immediate aftermath of his loss to Adesanya, Pereira, a former two-weight champion during his tenure with GLORY Kickboxing, confirmed his intentions to move to the light heavyweight limit for his next Octagon walk.
Alex Pereira sent a prior warning to Jamahal Hill ahead of his light heavyweight climb
And weighing up fights against former title challenger, Magomed Ankalaev, former champion, Jan Blachowicz, and the above-mentioned gold holder, Hill in his landing at 205lbs, Pereira has been issued a warning by the Illinois native.
“If I’m looking at it as far as fair for everybody else in the division, yeah, I would say he (Alex Pereira) has to win a fight [at light heavyweight] in order to get a title shot,” Jamahal Hill told MMA Junkie during a recent interview. “But his name brings some value, so there’s that factor.
“I’m not dumb to the fact that that could play a factor in somebody getting a fight,” Jamahal Hill explained. “I don’t care, bro. I really don’t care. When you get to this fight, it’s not going to be what you think it is. It’s an ass whooping waiting for you here. So whenever you decide to get that, it is what it is.”