Jamahal Hill will meet Ovince Saint Preux in the biggest fight of his career later tonight (Sat., Dec. 5, 2020) at UFC Vegas 16 live on ESPN+/ESPN2 from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, but the light heavyweight contender had to overcome some adversity to get here.
Hill, who made his Octagon debut earlier this year after a successful showing on Dana White’s “Contender Series,” is coming off a knockout over Klidson Abreu back in May (highlights HERE). However, Hill ended up failing a drug test for marijuana and was ultimately suspended for a few months, fined 15 percent of his purse, and had his win overturned to a no contest all by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC).
While Hill has served his time and is ready to return to action this weekend against Saint Preux that doesn’t mean the incident is any easier to stomach. The 29-year-old contender discussed the six-month ordeal during UFC Vegas 16’s virtual media day.
“I think it’s f*cking stupid,” revealed Hill. “I’m not the person you want to ask. I think it’s dumb as hell, I think everything that I’ve had to deal with as a result of that is dumb as f*ck and I really think they need to focus energy on things that actually matter and not goofy sh*t like that.”
Despite the no contest, Hill still holds a decision win over Darko Stosic in his UFC debut earlier this year. “Sweet Dreams” would have liked the opportunity to turn in a 3-0 record in 2020, but he’ll have to settle for a broken resume so early into his Octagon career.
“It’s extremely irritating,” Hill said. “It’s something that I’ve got to walk around with on my record, which in fact, just to clear the record, I did not smoke in competition. I smoked four weeks before that out of competition before I even took the fight.
“I took the fight, I stopped smoking immediately and somehow in their tests it came back that my levels were too high even after the UFC did an investigation, tested my old samples, and showed them the difference in the levels and everything, they still went ahead and decided to suspend me, fine me, put me through all this other bullsh*t, so it’s annoying as f*ck. But it is what it is. I’m not gonna keep looking back on it, I’m just pushing forward. I’ve got a good future ahead of me and I’m focused on that.”
Hill isn’t the first fighter to test positive for marijuana and he won’t be the last. Many fighters use marijuana to help heal and limit stress during camp. It’s not something that should be necessarily considered a “performance-enhancing drug,” but it remains a prohibited substance.
“I think it’s bullsh*t,” Hill said. “I think it’s dumb and I think it’s a waste of resources. We could be focusing on other things. Weed is not performance-enhancing at all. It’s just something that people do in their downtime just to chill and relax and hang out. It also has medical benefits as well, but as far as fighters fighting like-you know what I mean? Come on, bro. It’s goofy as f*ck, bro.”
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 16 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+/ESPN2 preliminary card bouts at 8:00 p.m. ET, followed by the ESPN+/ESPN2 main card start time at 10 p.m. ET.