World Series of Fighting bantamweight contender Josh Hill (10-0) is planning an upset party, and we’re all invited to watch Thursday, Feb. 12 on NBC Sports Network.
Taking on WSOF champion Marlon Moraes at WSOF 18, Hill must scale a precipitous summit if he wants to get his hands on gold.
To this point, Moraes has looked like an NBA All-Star playing in the D-League inside the WSOF cage, beating all six of his promotional opponents whenever and however he wanted. He’s knocked them out, forced them to tap out and beaten them down on the judges’ scorecards.
But Hill remains confident and calm. A 10-0 record doesn’t happen by chance, and he knows he possesses some unique advantages going into his bout with the WSOF bantamweight king.
“I have a good gas tank. That’s one of my things. And even in fights when I’m tired, I just keep pushing through,” Hill told Bleacher Report. “I just keep driving and pushing and putting pressure on and making my opponent quit…I think it will be a little different when he (Moraes) has somebody pressuring forward and creating more angles and making it more of a grind match and really grueling on the cardio aspect.”
Hill first popped up on MMA fans’ radars during Season 18 of the UFC’s hit reality show The Ultimate Fighter, where he lost an elimination-round matchup to Michael Wooten.
While it technically occurred during an exhibition match and therefore is not a part of Hill’s professional record, this loss helped Hill tremendously. The pressure of maintaining an undefeated record is significant, Hill said, and the loss to Wooten, while devastating at the time, helped him relax and re-establish his goals for future bouts.
“Once I hit like 6-0 then 7-0, 8,0, 9-0, I put a lot of pressure on myself and I just think I got a lot of pressure put on me,” Hill said. “I went out there and I started fighting to stay undefeated and not fighting to just go out there and fight and win.
“I got to experience that loss (on TUF) and get that weight off my shoulders a bit, and now I can just go out there and fight and not worry about all that stuff. That kind of pressure is one of those things you don’t need to worry about when you’re getting ready for a fight.”
Against Moraes, there’s certainly reason to feel pressure.
For starters, Moraes is an animal. On his feet, he strikes with a speed and precision unmatched by 99 percent of his peers, and he’s unafraid to show off his brown-belt-level skills in Brazilian jiu-jitsu should the fight hit the mat.
He’s 13-4-1 overall, but he’s undefeated in his last eight fights, destroying his foes with ease and capturing the WSOF bantamweight strap in the process.
Hill knows this is just another step toward fulfilling his destiny, though. Moraes is a mighty opponent, but there are no gimme title fights at this level. Hill is prepared, and he’s committed to keeping his showdown with Moraes in context, refusing to lose sight of the bigger picture.
“I’m pretty pumped about how far I’ve come so far,” Hill said. “It’s been just over five years since I’ve had my first fight, and we’ve done a lot since then…I was on The Ultimate Fighter, and now I’m fighting for a world title. It’s pretty cool, man. I’m just enjoying the ride.
“As I’m getting older, I’m learning to really enjoy the journey and not just the end result, so I’m going to enjoy every single ounce of media and meeting fans and meeting fighters and coaches and training partners I can. You never know when it can end, so I just want to have fun with it.”
When the cage door closes and it’s go time in the WSOF 18 main event, win or lose, Hill will be ready to throw down and showcase his skills on a national stage.
Polished as he may be, Moraes is just another opponent, another human being, and Hill will remain in the moment, focused and ready for battle.
“The mental part is the heart of it and the more important part, to be honest,” Hill said. “I can’t psyche myself out or anything like that. I can’t stress myself out. He’s a good fighter, but I’m going to go out there and fight my fight.
“I’m not worrying about what he’s going to do. I’m only worrying about what I’m going to do, and I’m going to look across the cage come fight time, and I don’t care who you put in there, whether it’s a bantamweight or a heavyweight, I’m going to go out there and do what I trained to do.”
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