"It wasn't a groin strike" - Jamahal Hill reflects on Herb Dean-Alex Pereira moment during final sequence of UFC 300 title fight
Jamahal Hill suffered a first-round knockout loss to Alex Pereira in the main event of UFC 300, failing to reclaim the light heavyweight title. The bout was not without controversy, however, as 'Sweet Dreams' appeared to land a groin shot. While referee Herb Dean called for a time-out, 'Poatan' waved him off and quickly knocked out his opponent within seconds.
The No.3-ranked light heavyweight recently weighed in on the knockout, which many claimed was caused by the distraction. Speaking to The Schmo, Hill stated:
"It's protect yourself at all times, but right after they tell you that, it's obey my commands at all times, too. In the moment, whenever it happened, I stopped. He said stop before he interjected and I stopped and you can see Alex continues to close the distance on me. I understand it's a cool moment, 'oh, he got hit in the n**s, he got pushed off - he pushed it off and then he came"
Hill continued:
"It wasn't a groin strike and him closing the angle on me while I'm trying to check and make sure he's good and things like that, it was a gritty competitor move. Something I should've peeped, caught on to, and protected myself against. If Herb Dean could've done anything, I would've liked to have had a more clean and better reset."
Check out Jamahal Hill's comments on the controversial moment ahead of Alex Pereira's UFC 300 knockout below:
It is unclear why the veteran referee did not separate the fighters, even momentarily, after calling for a break in the action. Pereira was able to retain his light heavyweight title as he knocked Hill out soon after Dean attempted to stop the bout.
Jamahal Hill claims he is more interested in Alex Pereira rematch than the title
Jamahal Hill suffered the second loss of his mixed martial arts career as he was knocked out by Alex Pereira in the first round of the main event of UFC 300. 'Sweet Dreams' revealed that he is more determined to rematch 'Poatan' than recapture the title during a recent interview with The Schmo, stating:
"Honestly for me, now it's not even about the gold strap, it's about getting back to that fight. I wanna fight with Alex again, just because of the narrative surrounding it. I know what I was feeling in there, and I know what type of timing it's really on whenever we step in there again so I just want to get to that fight. That's the fight that I really want."
Check out Jamahal Hill's comments on facing Alex Pereira below:
Hill added that he doesn't care what Pereira does next, but knows the pair will clash again in the future. The No.3-ranked light heavyweight is set to return to the octagon during International Fight Week in June when he faces Khalil Rountree.