The UFC only asked Jamahal Hill if he could headline UFC 300 on Friday, and left the confirmation until he arrived at UFC 298 on Saturday to watch the fights.
On Saturday night, the UFC finally announced Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill for the light heavyweight title as the main event for their big 300th pay-per-view event. Based on comments from UFC CEO Dana White, it was clear the company was rolling through a number of options until the last minute. So how last minute was Pereira vs. Hill?
In a new interview with Sportsnet’s Aaron Bronsteter, Jamahal Hill shared the timeline from being asked to fight Pereira to getting word that he was officially headlining UFC 300.
“I found out for sure for sure that it was locked in since I been in this, since I got to the [UFC 298] venue,” Hill said. “We talked about it and I agreed to it yesterday.”
Hill on when being in the UFC 300 main event became a possibility: “Everybody wants to be on 300, but realistically, it didn’t really come on my radar, it didn’t really happen until yesterday, I’m not even going to lie, yesterday.” pic.twitter.com/M4anDrcMuw
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) February 18, 2024
“Everybody wants to be on UFC 300, but realistically it didn’t really come on my radar and didn’t really happen until like yesterday,” he expounded later in the interview. “I’m not even gonna lie. Like, yesterday. When he called me, and he let me know the situation … well, basically the situation was they needed a main event. They had some things lined up but they preferred it be me and Alex.”
“It’s the first option, it’s what they really wanted. The people definitely wanted it, it’s what people have been asking me for months now, all week. Yeah, it made sense.”
Maybe it wasn’t the UFC’s first option overall, but hopefully it was the first option out of the options they were left with on Saturday night. And let’s be clear: Pereira vs. Hill is a great fight. Two violent men at the top of the division in a bout guaranteed to deliver fireworks. But when the booking is thrown together last minute because a month’s worth of other options don’t work out, it’s always going to feel a bit like a consolation prize.
Blame the UFC for how they handled everything, not Alex Pereira or Jamahal Hill.
As for “Sweet Dreams,” he’s painfully aware he’s got endless doubters out there and is excited to show them what’s up when he fights “Poatan” on April 13th.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge,” Jamahal said. “The challenge of Alex has become huge, you know? He’s done incredible things, two division champion in the UFC in seven fights, quickest to ever do it. So I just wanna get in there and see how I match up with him.”
“It means a lot, even just being considered for it and them asking me to do it is huge,” he said about the fight’s placement on UFC 300. “It’s putting a lot of trust in my abilities and how I’m able to show up to put me at the helm of a card like that, and I appreciate that.”