Jamahal Hill ruptured his Achilles at pre-UFC 290 basketball game with Daniel Cormier: REPORT
The UFC is again without a light heavyweight champion after it was announced that Jamahal Hill would relinquish his title.
'Sweet Dreams' was cage-side at the stunning UFC 290 card last weekend and took part in a pre-PPV basketball game alongside stars such as Belal Muhammad, Kevin Holland, and Daniel Cormier. Unfortunately, it was not all plain sailing.
During the game, Jamahal Hill reportedly suffered a severe injury, later revealed to be a ruptured Achilles. The 32-year-old now faces immediate surgery to correct the problem and will be out of action for several months. Hill has now vacated the title just like former champ Jiri Prochazka did last year.
MMA Fighting's Damon Martin recently broke the news.
#Breaking — Jamahal Hill announces that he's ruptured his Achilles — he will have surgery and says he will relinquish the UFC light heavyweight title while he recovers.
From what I heard, per sources, the injury occurred at the MMA fighter basketball game ahead of #UFC290
Jamahal Hill took to YouTube to break the news to his fans and was visibly gutted to have had to come to the decision. Speaking on his channel, 'Sweet Dreams' said:
"I have unfortunately suffered an injury, I've ruptured my Achilles.Yeah, um, this is one of those injuries, f*ck man. It's alright. It's just one of those things that happen you know, it's a tough injury. It will require surgery, time and rehab and means I'll be out for a while."
He added:
"Prochazka gave up the title... To keep the division moving so the people have a champion, I'll be doing the same. Now, the biggest thing is focusing on my recovery."
Catch Jamahal Hill's comment below (1:30):
Anthony Smith comments on Jamahal Hill's weight gain
Anthony Smith believes Jamahal Hill needs to go on a diet immediately and lose the weight he has gained.
Hill hasn't fought since his stunning victory over Glover Teixeira in January. The 205 lbs champ is known to put on a fair amount of weight between his fights. However, 'Lionheart' believes Hill has gained more than usual. 'Sweet Dreams' even confirmed on Instagram he currently weighs over 240 lbs.
Speaking about Hill on the Believe You Me podcast with Michael Bisping, Smith stated that the 32-year-old must start losing weight:
"I saw him in Jacksonville and at that time he still hadn't heard anything but he said that's what he was looking for. He said that Jiri sounds like he's gonna be ready soon, he didn't hear anything on a date yet though.He needs to get on a diet, that's what he needs to do, have you seen him? He gets heavy."
Catch Anthony Smith's comments below (24:10):