3 reasons why Jamahal Hill will beat Glover Teixeira at UFC 283 and 2 reasons why he won't

This weekend sees the UFC travel to Rio de Janeiro for its first pay-per-view of 2023, and in the headliner, Glover Teixeira faces Jamahal Hill for the vacant light heavyweight title.

Jamahal Hill will come into this bout with far less experience than his opponent, former titleholder Glover Teixeira, so can he find a way to defeat him?

If @GloverTeixeira & @JamahalH have their way, the #UFC283 main event won't be needing the judges 💥

While the styles of the two fighters seem to favor the Brazilian slightly, there are a number of reasons for ‘Sweet Dreams’ to remain hopeful.

Here are three reasons why Jamahal Hill can beat Glover Teixeira at UFC 283 for the light heavyweight title, and two reasons why he can’t.

#3. Jamahal Hill is coming into his fight with Glover Teixeira with tons of confidence

Jamahal Hill is beginning to build an aura of invincibility

When it comes to big, closely-matched fights in the UFC, sometimes it’s best to look at the X-factors in order to pick a potential winner.

In the case of Glover Teixeira vs. Jamahal Hill, one of those -factors could be the confidence and momentum that Hill will be bringing with him.

‘Sweet Dreams’ doesn’t have the experience of his Brazilian foe, and he’ll also be heading into seriously hostile territory. The likelihood is that he’ll be booed out of the building by the Rio fans upon his arrival.

However, where Teixeira hasn’t fought since his devastating loss to Jiri Prochazka in June, Hill is currently on the best run of his octagon career.

He’s won his last three bouts in a row, all by knockout or TKO, and they’ve come against arguably his toughest three opponents in Jimmy Crute, Johnny Walker and Thiago Santos.

Jamahal Hill finishes Thiago Santos in the main event
#UFCVegas59
https://t.co/lkIcYY6B4z

It’s true that Teixeira has bounced back from losses before, but it’s also true that the former titleholder seems vulnerable right now, particularly as he’s getting no younger.

‘Sweet Dreams’, on the other hand, seems to be fighting with the aura of someone who believes that they can’t lose. That kind of confidence could be key in him pulling off what would be a pretty major upset.

#2. Jamahal Hill will enjoy a speed advantage over Glover Teixeira

Jamahal Hill should enjoy a speed advantage over Glover Teixeira

Glover Teixeira is undoubtedly an outstanding fighter with a ton of dangerous skills. He carries brutal power in his strikes, he has good boxing technique, and on the ground, he’s a high-level Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt capable of submitting any opponent.

However, the one clear weakness in Teixeira’s game is his lack of speed. Even in his prime, the Brazilian wasn’t exactly a quick fighter. Now, at the age of 43, it’s arguable that he looks slower than ever.

Teixeira is still more than capable of putting an opponent away with strikes if he can hit them, but it wouldn’t be unfair to call his striking approach plodding these days.

That puts him at the other end of the spectrum to Jamahal Hill. ‘Sweet Dreams’ is a quick, explosive striker who can land on his foes before they realize he’s throwing leather at them.

More importantly for this fight, Hill will enjoy a height and reach advantage over Teixeira, and he’s shown in his bouts with the likes of Ovince Saint Preux that he’s more than capable of making the most of it.

The 205lb division was just put on NOTICE 🤯

[ @JamahalH | #UFCVegas48 ] https://t.co/1vNMNXNJSZ

Essentially, if the former titleholder can’t either catch Hill with something heavy on the feet, or get hold of him to take him down, he could find himself struggling with the faster man. That, in turn, could lead to a ‘Sweet Dreams’ win.

#1. Jamahal Hill has the potential to knock Glover Teixeira out

Jamahal Hill has heavy knockout power in his hands

The biggest attribute giving Jamahal Hill the chance of beating Glover Teixeira for the UFC light heavyweight title this weekend is the fact that he hits extremely hard.

Most of the fighters in the light heavyweight division carry big power, but Hill is definitely one of the division’s most dangerous strikers. He’s won 11 bouts in his MMA career, including five in the UFC. Seven of them have come via KO or TKO, including his last four victories in the octagon.

Jamahal Hill swarmed Ovince Saint Preux with strikes and the referee stepped in to wave it off! 💪

A second-round TKO and still undefeated! 😤

#UFCVegas16 https://t.co/q3EJv8yF70

Teixeira, on the other hand, doesn’t exactly have an iron chin any more. After losing his MMA debut via knockout way back in 2002, he actually wasn’t stopped again until his 2016 bout with Anthony Johnson.

However, since then he’s suffered another KO loss at the hands of Alexander Gustafsson. Opponents such as Ion Cutelaba, Thiago Santos and Jiri Prochazka, meanwhile, all rocked him with their strikes even if they couldn’t finish him with them.

If someone as heavy-handed as Hill can catch him cleanly, then, there’s no disputing the idea that he could knock him out as Gustafsson and Johnson did.

Essentially, this is probably the best chance that ‘Sweet Dreams’ has to win this fight, and so it’s likely that we’ll see him swing with everything he has.

With the reasons why Jamahal Hill has a chance of beating Glover Teixeira out of the way, here are two reasons why ‘Sweet Dreams’ is unlikely to win this fight.

#2. Glover Teixeira is far more experienced than Jamahal Hill in big fights

Glover Teixeira is an extremely experienced fighter

The biggest difference between Glover Teixeira and Jamahal Hill in this bout is the fact that the Brazilian has so much more experience than his younger foe.

Hill is set to turn 32 years old in May, meaning he’s not exactly a very young fighter. However, he’s still more than a decade younger than Teixeira.

While it’s true that Father Time could catch up with the Brazilian at any point now, the fact is that he’s got 41 professional bouts on his record compared to Hill’s 13. In fact, Teixeira has more fights in the UFC octagon than Hill has fights period, and he made his debut there in 2012, five years before Hill started competing in MMA.

Given the magnitude of the spotlight that will be on this bout, particularly as it’s headlining the UFC’s first event in Brazil since 2020, it’s hard to guess exactly how ‘Sweet Dreams’ will cope.

Teixeira, on the other hand, has fought under big spotlights for years and almost certainly won’t feel the pressure like his opponent will.

If Hill shows any kind of nervousness once this fight begins, it’s highly likely that his more experienced foe will take advantage of that. And with the kind of ruthless finishing skills that Teixeira can call upon, it may be the opening he needs to find a way to win.

#1. Glover Teixeira has the skills to take advantage of Jamahal Hill’s weaker ground game

Glover Teixeira is very dangerous on the ground

While Jamahal Hill has shown both an excellent striking game and gas tank during his seven trips to the UFC octagon, the one major weakness that he’s displayed was in his ground game.

In his clash with Paul Craig in June 2021, ‘Sweet Dreams’ found himself on the ground early when the Scotsman pulled guard. Before Hill could find a way out, Craig had twisted his hips and locked up an armbar variant. From there, Hill made the error of trying to wrench his way free.

Seconds later, his elbow dislocated. While he refused to tap out, it came as no surprise to see Craig use a series of nasty elbows to force the referee to step in.

Essentially, Hill’s ground game looked pretty dreadful in this bout. While he’s likely to have improved to an extent since, it doesn’t bode well for him against Glover Teixeira.

That’s because the Brazilian is one of the best grapplers in the history of the UFC light heavyweight division. Not only is he capable of submitting his foes with chokes and joint locks, but he’s also brutally efficient at punishing his opponents from top position with strikes.

Glover Teixeira gets the third-round finish and is now riding a 5️⃣ fight win streak!

✅ Karl Roberson
✅ Ion Cutelaba
✅ Nikita Krylov
✅ Anthony Smith
✅ Thiago Santos

#UFCVegas13 https://t.co/acfjtv3Fwx

Essentially, if this fight hits the mat, then it’s hard to believe that Teixeira won’t be able to find a way to victory, particularly if Hill’s defense is still porous. Therefore, the Brazilian should be seen as the favorite coming in.