If UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira and Jamahal Hill share the Octagon as expected, “Poatan” believes “Sweet Dreams” will be in for a rude awakening in the standup.
Pereira captured the 205-pound gold after Hill was forced to vacate the title due to an Achilles tear. Hill was in attendance for Pereira’s UFC 295 victory over Jiri Prochazka. After the fight, Hill took to his YouTube channel to say that he isn’t afraid to strike with Pereira. He also said that he doesn’t plan to take Pereira down and looks to beat him at his own game and win via knockout.
During an interview with David Adesanya, Hill said he thinks he brings elements to his game that Pereira hasn’t dealt with. He went as far as to say he thinks the fight would play out “dominantly” for him.
Alex Pereira Fires Back At Jamahal Hill
Alex Pereira answered questions from fight fans on his own YouTube channel. He clearly does not think Hill will try to keep things standing for long.
“So, I think I proved myself in the light heavyweight division against Jiri, winning the title, and obviously as well with the fight against Jan Blachowicz,” Pereira said. “If I would compare these three fighters, Jamahal, Jan, and Jiri, and someone would tell me like, ‘Hey, choose one to fight,’ I would choose Jamahal because I think he’s a good opponent for me and I think it’s just a little bit too much as well looking at my story, my history in kickboxing to say, ‘I will stand striking and I will knock him out’ and whatever, because all the people are always trying it. I’m sure he wants to strike, but when he sees it’s not working he will go on the ground as well.… I think Jamahal is a good fight for me, and I think he was a little bit over [confident] with his statement.”
Here is the full fan Q&A session with Pereira:
