Ex-UFC Champ Jamahal Hill Bluntly Assesses Alex Pereira Matchup

An injury forced Hill to vacate the light heavyweight title earlier this year.

The UFC finally has a new light heavyweight champion, but Jamahal Hill fully expects to reclaim that title whenever he steps into the Octagon to face Alex Pereira.

Paddy Pimblett: UFC Champ Leon Edwards Knocked Out Ian Garry in Training

“Sweet Dreams” won the vacant light heavyweight strap at UFC 283 in January when he earned a unanimous decision over former champion Glover Teixeira. Hill unfortunately suffered a torn Achilles tendon in July and decided to vacate the title, which made him the second consecutive light heavyweight champion to do so after Jiří Procházka also relinquished the belt due to injury.

Procházka made his long-awaited return at UFC 295 last weekend but was stopped by Pereira late in the second round, and now Hill has assessed how he matches up with the Brazilian during a recent interview on Israel Adesanya's YouTube channel.

Hill won the light heavyweight title at UFC 283.  :: (Jason da Silva/USA TODAY Sports)

“I think it plays out dominantly for me,” Hill told David Adesanya. “Just based on what [I’ve seen], I just see that I have skills and I have attributes that he just hasn’t dealt with and that he won’t be able to deal with...His whole [striking] defense and everything depends on his offense. He protects himself, he stays protected behind his offense. If you can make him have to play a defensive-first game, I think that’s a weakness for him.”

It only took three wins in the UFC for Pereira to challenge his former kickboxing rival Adesanya for the middleweight title at UFC 281. “Poatan” walked away with the belt after that matchup, but Adesanya got his revenge in their immediate rematch before Pereira decided to move up to light heavyweight.

Dana White Polishes Next Fight For Alex Pereira: "That Makes Sense"

Pereira was massive for the middleweight division and still appears to be one of the larger fighters in his new weight class, but Hill does believe that some fans have exaggerated how big of a light heavyweight the newly-crowned champion is. 

Pereira has now held UFC titles at both middleweight and light heavyweight.  :: (Wendell Cruz/USA TODAY Sports)

“He’s not big, bro. He’s actually really, really thin. He doesn’t have this big, bulky mass behind him. He’s a big dude, but he’s not like – he may be one of the taller guys in the division, he’s not one of the bigger guys in the division. Even if he’s able to put weight back on however he’s able to put that weight back on. Like say he’s about 230 [pounds] come fight night. His build and the way he is, it’s not the type of 230 that you would think. It’s not like me at 230.”

Hill will presumably receive an immediate title shot once he returns from injury given that he never actually lost the light heavyweight title. Jan Błachowicz also appears to be angling for a crack at Pereira’s belt after “Poatan” won a narrow split decision over the former champion in his light heavyweight debut at UFC 291.

The UFC may elect to have Pereira first defend his belt against an opponent other than Hill depending on the timeline for the former champion's recovery, and immediately after defeating Procházka at UFC 295 the Brazilian seemed to suggest he'd like to set up another matchup with Adesanya. 

READ MORE: UFC Hall of Famer Reveals Advice to Tom Aspinall Before KO Win Over Sergei Pavlovich

If you use any quotes from this article, please leave an H/T to MMAKnockout.com for the transcription.

Stick with MMA Knockout for more daily coverage of the UFC and MMA

Follow MMA Knockout on Twitter and Facebook.