Jamahal Hill is scouring the earth for any and every piece of knowledge he can find about his UFC 300 opponent ahead of what is undoubtedly the most important fight of his career.
For ‘Sweet Dreams’ this match will serve as a harbinger of redemption. After a torn achilles that would result in him losing the title he worked so desperately hard for, he now gets the chance to prove himself once more and earn it again. But, the man standing in his way is seemingly more beast than man, and many who have stood in his way have fallen.
The man is Alex Pereira, and in only about three years with the UFC, he has become the stuff of legends. Few can forget the way he followed his rival over from kickboxing and skyrocketed up the UFC’s middleweight rankings. When he finally got his chance to face Israel Adesanya in the UFC, he captured the middleweight title and fully cemented himself amongst his peers. And now, even at light heavyweight, Pereira has found success with two consecutive victories.
Jamahal Hill seeks Israel Adesanya’s Advice for facing his toughest test to date in Alex Pereira
In what can be considered a wise move, Hill has admittedly reached out to the former middleweight champion Adesanya. “[Israel Adesanya was] just giving me some advice and insights on what he’s seen and his experience of being in there fighting Alex,” Hill revealed during the UFC Vegas 90 post-fight show (H/T MMA Fighting). “Just basically essentially those things and how to approach and things like that.”
Jamahal Hill knows that he himself also presents a massive challenge to Pereira and has a victory over Pereira’s mentor, Glover Teixeira. So, he claims that he really hasn’t changed much about his fight camp, leading into this particular battle.
“Still the same as usual,” Jamahal Hill said of his training. “You end the camp, stay loose, get the weight down. Make weight and go and do your thing.
“Training’s been great. I’m always growing, I’m always learning new things, always adding new things. Always trying new things out. It’s been going great. Martial arts is just one of those journeys, you’ve got to enjoy the process and that’s what I’m doing.”
‘Sweet Dreams’ also claims that the pressure of headlining a bi-centennial card like UFC 300 just merely adds to his excitement. In fact, he’s thrilled about having the chance to prove himself on such a large stage.
“One hundred percent it’s exciting,” Jamahal Hill said. “The best way I can describe it, it’s like in basketball, it’s like whenever you show up to the All-Star game. All-Star weekend, everybody wants to show their skills, want to make their name, want to get off like that. This is what this opportunity is.
“There’s a lot of big names on this card. A lot of guys with reputations that bring it. That bring an exciting fight so if you want your names to be among those and with that, it’s your chance to come with it and bring it.”
What do you think about Jamahal Hill’s chances against Alex Pereira?