"He has done incredible things" - Jamahal Hill talks magnitude of Alex Pereira challenge he is set to face at UFC 300
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill is set to challenge for the title that he never lost against Alex Pereira in the main event of the year's biggest pay-per-view, UFC 300.
Hill spoke to Aaron Bronsteter from Sportsnet in an interview and expressed how he felt about taking on record-breaking champion Pereira, who has held titles in two different divisions. Pereira has also garnered a fearsome reputation for his power.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge, man. I’m looking forward to the challenge. The challenge of Alex is become huge, you know? He’s done incredible things: two division champion in the UFC in seven fights, quickest to ever do it. I just want to get in there and see how I match up against him.”
Jamahal Hill also outlined the significance of headlining a historic card like UFC 300 and appreciated the promotion's trust in him.
“It means a lot. Just even being considered for it and them asking me to do it is huge. It’s putting a lot of trust in my abilities and how I’m able to show up to put me at the helm of a card like that. And I appreciate that. Everybody wanted to headline 300, everybody wants to be on 300, but realistically, it didn’t really come on my radar, it didn’t really happen until yesterday, I’m not even going to lie.”
Check out Jamahal Hill's comments below (1:00):
Dana White defends UFC 300 main event between Alex Pereira and Jamahal Hill
Dana White announced the long-awaited UFC 300 main event right after the conclusion of UFC 298 and the crowning of a new champion in the featherweight division, Ilia Topuria.
However, the much-anticipated announcement did not receive the expected reaction from fans, as is evident from the comments on the post. White addressed the discontentment in the press conference after the PPV and explained that the circumstances involved with injuries and fighter availability were crucial in coming to this decision.
White also defended both Jamahal Hill and Alex Pereira as worthy headliners of UFC 300.
“This was not about money. It was all about timing. We’ve got three killer cards in a row and in this business you have injuries and all kinds of other bulls**t that goes on behind the scenes. We’ve been talking about 300 forever. We were just trying to make the best fights that we could possibly make. We had two more fights to make and we’re trying to put on two bad **s fights. These two guys are it... Both guys are hungry. They both want it. No way that fight sucks.”
Check out Dana White's full comments below (4:40):