Joe Rogan empathizes with Jamahal Hill
Returning to the Octagon nine months after suffering a devastating Achilles injury, ‘Sweet Dreams’ was hellbent on reclaiming the light heavyweight crown he’d never lost, challenging reigning champion Alex Pereira in the UFC 300 headliner on April 13.
‘Poatan’ would go on to finish Hill in the opening round with a nasty left uppercut followed by some ground-and-pound strikes. But seconds before that, an errant low blow from Hill may have set the fight-ending sequence in motion.
ALEX PEREIRA ko JAMAHAL HILL in the first round omg🙂🔥🔥🔥🗿🗿#UFC300 pic.twitter.com/7iG3OzL0XP
— Abdo UFC135 (@heesien63589) April 14, 2024
After Hill accidentally landed a front kick low on Pereira, referee Herb Dean moved in to pause the action and give Pereira time to recover. However, Pereira waved off Dean, indicating he was fine and ready to continue. Dean immediately backed off, allowing the fight to continue uninterrupted. Two seconds later, Hill was sent crashing to the canvas.
Joe Rogan Empathizes with Jamahal Hill
The argument levied by Chael Sonnen, Daniel Cormier, Jamahal Hill himself, and now Joe Rogan, claims that the momentary pause allowed Pereira the opportunity to close the distance and catch his opponent off guard.
“Let’s make the argument, and see what happens,” Rogan said on his JRE podcast while rewatching Jamahal Hill’s loss to Alex Pereira at UFC 300. “Watch Jamahal, see [after the groin strike] his legs lock up, and he relaxes. He gives a thumbs up ‘We cool’, and he touches Herb so now they’re back at it. Pereira has never relaxed. The fight had restarted, but would that position have taken place had it not been for Jamahal relaxing and giving him the thumbs up?”
Rogan continued, “…There is a weird millisecond where nobody knows what’s going on. [But] Pereira is still moving forward. When Jamahal lands the kick, and look at the distance [Pereira] closes. He closed the distance… They pause, Jamahal gives him the thumbs up, but Pereira’s closed the gap now. He’s closed the gap a lot more than Jamahal would’ve let him. It’s a mistake by Jamahal, protect yourself at all times. But also, it does seem like there’s a moment of confusion.”
“…Once he does that little hop in, he takes the moment to close the gap. So he doesn’t stop when Herb stops him, he closes the gap. This is a real moment, and I’m not making any excuses for Jamahal. Jamahal can take a loss as good as anybody… But he’s got a point here. [But] it’s not a perfect point, because they had engaged again, but Pereira had closed that gap.”
Determined to bounce back as soon as possible, Jamahal Hill has already booked a return bout against rising light heavyweight contender Khalil Rountree. The two will compete in the UFC 303 co-main event on June 29 — the same night Conor McGregor makes his long-awaited return for a clash with former Bellator MMA champion ‘Iron’ Michael Chandler.
Rountree has won five straight fights, his most recent victory coming against perennial 205-pound contender Anthony ‘Lionheart’ Smith in December.
Watch the full JRE episode below:
