Jamahal Hill outraged by MMA community “coming at him”, doubles down on promise to “put an a** whopping” on Alex Pereira
Jamahal Hill is seemingly tired of facing backlash for the confidence he has in his ability to get the UFC light heavyweight title back.
Hill won the belt by defeating former champion Glover Teixeira at UFC 283. However, he had to vacate top spot due to an Achilles tendon injury. The 32-year-old was then expected to serve as the next opponent for the winner of Alex Pereira vs. Jiri Prochazka.
On November 11, Pereira defeated Prochazka to win the UFC light heavyweight title, marking the second championship of his short but impressive UFC career.
The fan favorite fighter ignored Jamahal Hill and called out archrival Israel Adesanya for a trilogy fight in MMA. 'Sweet Dreams' did not like being jumped over and registered his protest. Additionally, he has received fan backlash for his remarks on Jiri Prochazka and Alex Pereira during the fight week.
The former 205-pound king called out 'toxic' fans for the the jabs and said:
“A lot of disrespect has come from me just being confident in myself and my abilities and things like that. I’ve never disrespected anybody’s family, I’ve never disrespected anybody’s heritage or religion… any of that! I’ve simply just spoke about myself and spoke competitively. You all come at me most disrespectfully… Oh, I should just be happy that I was able to work my ass off to get to the things that I got to? It’s just crazy!”
Hill added:
“I like Alex. I think Alex is funny, Alex is cool. I think as a person, he is a good guy... But I have to put a severe a** whopping on him just for the simple fact of how you’ll are coming at me. I’m making a very subtle point. Mark my words when I say this: I do not plan on taking him down. I do not plan on wrestling him.”
Jamahal Hill reiterated that he has nothing but respect and love for Alex Pereira. However, he intends to put a beating on him to silence fans who are doubting him.
Watch Hill make the statements in the video below:
Dana White backs Jamahal Hill as the first challenger to Alex Pereira’s light heavyweight reign
Some MMA fans might be more inclined to watch Alex Pereira vs. Israel Adesanya 3 at light heavyweight given the long standing rivalry and sheer intensity of the previous fights between them. However, UFC CEO Dana White is staying firm on his decision to allow Jamahal Hill get his opportunity first.
While speaking to the media during the UFC 295 post-fight press conference, White told reporters:
“Israel Adesanya is a weight class below [Alex Pereira] now. But we’ve seen that. Yeah, Jamahal Hill when he is ready is the fight that makes sense…”
Watch the full UFC 295 post-fight press conference video below: