Jamahal Hill is desperate to get a rematch with Alex Pereira and is eager to show he’s worthy of it at UFC 311 on Saturday against Jiri Prochazka.
In a battle of former light heavyweight champions who suffered losses to Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) in 2024, Hill (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) and Prochazka (30-5-1 MMA, 4-2 UFC) will clash in a fight with high stakes at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPNews/Disney+, ESPN+)
Hill, in particular, thinks he would be undeniably worthy of a second shot at “Poatan” after he suffered a first-round knockout loss at UFC 300 in April. Hill has taken umbrage with the result of the fight, from him not being fully recovered from an Achilles tear to thinking Pereira fought dirty by punching him after waving off a low blow timeout from referee Herb Dean.
UFC and ESPN analyst Din Thomas agrees Hill should get a title shot if he defeated Prochazka in an impressive manner. Whether the result would be any different from the first meeting, however, is another story.
“I think Jamahal Hill would have deserved it,” Thomas told MMA Junkie. “I think he’s a good choice for it, in terms of building fights. Everybody loves to hate Jamahal Hill. I love his fighting spirit and I love his confidence in himself – I just don’t know if he can do it. When you look at the last fight, the pressure that Alex was able to put on him, just the presence pressure. Just standing in front of him and, Jamahal Hill just looked like, ‘Woah, I’ve never felt this before.’ I just don’t know how he changes that.
“Maybe we’ll see how he looks against Jiri Prochazka, and it might change my mind, but based on the first fight, there’s nothing about that first fight that suggests that Jamahal Hill has the ability and the skillset to beat Alex.”
Thomas is not singling out Hill as being inept of beating Pereira. No one in the 205-pound division has been able to stop the Brazilian since he entered the weight class and quickly racked up three defenses.
It is expected that Magomed Ankalaev will be the next challenger for gold, but with claims he’s not going to shoot any takedowns and will hunt for the knockout, Thomas thinks his chances are grim, as well.
“Khalil Rountree did the best and Khalil Rountree used more movement and can show a different style, and he did the best against him,” Thomas said. “But these other guys don’t have the movement to fight him, and they’re going to stand in front of him and get knocked out.”
Check out the video above as Thomas and MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn discuss the state of every champion in every UFC division on “The Bohnfire” podcast.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 311.
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