"Would've liked to have had a more clean and better reset" - Jamahal Hill opens up about time-out controversy against Alex Pereira at UFC 300
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill lost in his last outing against reigning champion Alex Pereira in the main event of UFC 300.
Pereira's knockout victory was preceded by him getting kicked illegally in the groin by Hill and then dismissing referee Herb Dean's attempt at a timeout. 'Poatan' immediately followed that up with a left hook and hammer fists to end the fight.
Hill discussed the sequence in an interview with The Schmo and credited his opponent for delivering a "cold moment." He stated that he would have preferred a clean reset to the fight by the referee. 'Sweet Dreams' said:
"It's protect yourself at all times but like you know, right after they tell you that, it's obey my commands at all times too... He [Herb Dean] said stop before he interjected and I stopped. And you can see Alex continues to close the distance on me and then like I understand, yeah it's a cold moment. 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 – it was a gritty competitive move, I should have caught on to. But if Herb Dean could have done anything, I would have liked to have had a more clean and better reset."
Hill added that he was not majorly hurt or affected in the aftermath of the knockout and is, therefore, ready to fight again soon.
"He landed a good shot, he was able to get close and then he stepped on my foot. It kind of went down from that. For the most part, it was just well-placed shots that kind of knocked my equilibrium off a little bit but it was nothing, I never had a headache, never felt concussed."
Check out Jamahal Hill's comments below (2:05):
Who and when will Jamahal Hill fight next?
Jamahal Hill will return to action at UFC 303, just under three months removed from his UFC 300 outing.
Hill will take on No.8-ranked light heavyweight contender Khalil Rountree Jr. at the highly anticipated pay-per-view, which will be headlined by the return of Conor McGregor in a welterweight bout against Michael Chandler.
Rountree Jr. is on an impressive streak of wins with five straight, including a devastating finish against former title challenger Anthony Smith. Four of those five wins have also come via TKO finishes, and a victory over a former champion could vault 'The War Horse' into the title picture.