The Light Heavyweight title takes top billing at the historic UFC 300 event on April 13, 2024.
We knew the next 205-pound title tilt was likely to be the new champion, Alex Pereira, defending against former champion, Jamahal Hill. It was just a matter of when “Sweet Dreams” was healthy enough to return from his ruptured achilles that ended his title reign in the first place.
Apparently, he’s good enough to go … That doesn’t mean everyone has been happy with the long-anticipated UFC 300 headliner, however.
“You finally got the answer for who will be headlining UFC 300 and it will be yours truly vs. Alex Pereira,” Hill said on his YouTube channel (h/t MMA Knockout). “The reaction to this has been kind of a mix of things here and there and whatnot. It’s been a lot of outrage, a lot of disappointment, and things like that. To be honest, it’s crazy to me. Cause for the most part, a lot of these people are the same. People have spent the better part of, I don’t know, a year, however long, trying to call me a crybaby.
“But, it’s crazy to see how a card can be stacked,” he continued. “The main card literally has a former champion or champion in every single fight and some even facing former champions in every single fight at the main card, each one of the prelims is worthy of being its own separate main event.”
The leading options throughout the rumor mills circled the Middleweight and Welterweight divions’ champions, Dricus Du Plessis and Leon Edwards. Ultimately, nothing came together between all possible arrangements of match ups.
Hill’s comeback title fight will be his first since he originally won the crown against Pereira’s mentor and coach, Glover Teixeira, at UFC 283 in January 2023. Hill earned a unanimous decision in enemy territory against the Brazilian before he vacated the strap, which led to Pereira vs. another former champion, Jiri Prochazka. Pereira capitalized on the moment and brought the title back to Brazil with an impressive second round technical knockout (watch highlights) at UFC 295 in November 2023.
“You got one of the most technical guaranteed banger of a fights that you could ask for at this time with serious title implications,” Hill said. “Historically, one of the best weight divisions in the UFC people are complaining.
“It’s funny though, I think I seen one comment. It said, ‘I was expecting Conor [McGregor] vs. Jesus himself,’” he laughed. “At this point. Now I’m convinced that wouldn’t have been enough. Like y’all could’ve got Mario vs. King Kong. Y’all could’ve got Wolverine vs. Iron Man. You could’ve gotten anything. Hulk vs. Superman, Spider-Man vs. Batman. You coulda got any of this, and you wouldn’t have been [happy].”
Hill, 32, has been confident he’ll put away his all-time great striker foe with a knockout. In his 14-fight career (12-1, 1 no contest), he’s achieved stoppage victories via strikes more than any other method with seven. Comparing UFC 300 to UFC 200, Hill doesn’t see much comparison, believing his fight is much better than the Bantamweight title tilt between Miesha Tate and Amanda Nunes.
To be fair, the originally planned UFC 200 main event was also a Light Heavyweight title fight, as Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones were set to rematch until Jones was flagged for banned substances. Therefore, “Bones” was removed from the event, the deck was shuffled, and Cormier fought former Middleweight champion, Anderson Silva, on just a couple of days’ notice.
“I say me and Alex are leaps and bounds [better than UFC 200] in terms of show, skill, and everything else that you get with those fights,” Hill said. “In terms of that. As far as that goes, people gonna say whatever they wanna say, I already know how my fights are and how my fights affect people. Whenever I step in that cage, y’all will be watching. It will be entertaining and it’s gonna be action.”