UFC middleweight stands up for Jamahal Hill amid animosity from fans: "Has praised Alex multiple times"
Jamahal Hill has been getting some flak from combat sports fans online since his loss to Alex Pereira, but a popular 185-pound competitor in the UFC understands where Hill is coming from. 'Sweet Dreams' lost in the main event of UFC 300 via first-round KO, and the former champion fell short in his bid to become a two-time titleholder as Pereira retained his light heavyweight belt.
Some have perceived it as Hill not handling the loss gracefully, and he has received a lot of negative feedback from many in the mixed martial arts community since that April setback. Not everyone sees it that way, though.
X user @AjDuxche was recommending people watch a UFC 303 reaction video posted to Jamahal Hill's YouTube.
"You can tell he is a cool guy and gives Alex his props multiple times as well as talks about how he respects Alex. Yeah people bring up him being salty about their fight, but at the end of the day that just love for the game. I don't think Hill is a bad guy, just very competitive. I also think people should ease up on him online."
UFC middleweight Chris Curtis responded to this tweet, writing:
"People who aren't in there will probably never understand those feelings but jamahal has praised Alex multiple times. He just wants another crack at him and I get it. No real fighter worth his salt will ever be OK with losing. There is always something we can do to fix it."
Check out Chris Curtis' thoughts on the Jamahal Hill below:
Jamahal Hill and his actions since the Alex Pereira loss
Jamahal Hill posted an Instagram video and some tweets in the hours following the setback to Alex Pereira a few months ago. The IG video he posted saw him saying he was okay while congratulating the champion. Hill's X saw him post how he dared to be great but came up short, intending to ignore haters and take this loss like a man.
The 33-year-old has indicated he begrudged how Pereira handled being hit low inadvertently in their title bout. The former champion stated how this allowed 'Poatan' to close the distance to land the key punch that ended the fight.
Hill looked to get back to action quickly at UFC 303 on June 29. This fast turnaround was initially targeted against Khalil Rountree Jr. and then Carlos Ulberg. Rountree Jr. consumed a banned substance, and then Hill sustained an injury, scrapping his spot on the card entirely.
'Sweet Dreams' made his most recent tweet on the heels of Pereira defending his belt in a rematch against Jiri Prochazka. The American indicated that the win was great, and stated that he would finish his next opponent and run it back against the Brazilian KO artist again someday.
'Poatan' gave a brief response at the post-fight presser.