Alex Pereira isn’t worried about Jamahal Hill receiving advice from Israel Adesanya.
Later this week, Pereira looks to defend his UFC light heavyweight title for the first time since securing the vacant throne against Jiri Prochazka. To do so, ‘Poatan’ must emerge victorious in the UFC 300 main event against Hill, who is returning after vacating the 205-pound title due to a ruptured Achilles injury.
There aren’t many fighters, if any, that know Pereira more than Adesanya. The longtime rivals have fought twice in kickboxing and twice in MMA, with ‘Poatan’ winning every time other than the UFC 287 main event.
Ahead of UFC 300, Hill and Adesanya reportedly had a conversation about how to defeat Pereira. During the media day for Saturday’s event, the reigning UFC light heavyweight world champion reacted to ‘Sweet Dreams’ receiving advice by saying:
“I think it was good. I think actually the best thing that he could have done for himself because actually if he went and sparred with Israel Adesanya, it would have been a big frustration for him, especially for the fact that [I] beat him so many times.”
Watch Pereira react to Adesanya giving Hill advice below:
Alex Pereira reacts to Israel Adesanya giving Jamahal Hill advice #UFC300@sportskeedaMMA pic.twitter.com/DMUomCW6rL
— Jake Foley🇺🇸🥋 (@JFoMMATalk) April 10, 2024
Alex Pereira doesn’t expect Jamahal Hill’s Achilles injury to play significant impact in UFC 300 main event
Jamahal Hill suffered a ruptured Achilles in July 2023 while playing in a pickup basketball game during the UFC 290 fight week. Considering Hill is returning after less than a year, several analysts have questioned whether his injury is fully healed, which could be exploited by Alex Pereira.
During the UFC 300 media day, Hill shut down the idea of his Achilles being a factor in this fight. Later in the day, Pereira also downplayed the theory of ‘Sweet Dreams’ not fully recovering by saying:
“I’m definitely not with the expectations of him just have been sitting out [and] not training because of an injury. If he signed the contract to fight this fight, he did for a reason. He knows the test that he has ahead of himself, so I’m very aware of it.”
Alex Pereira has been nearly unbeatable since making his UFC debut. Meanwhile, Jamahal Hill’s last fight in January 2023 silenced many doubters, as he battered Pereira’s mentor, Glover Teixeira, in a unanimous decision win to become the light heavyweight champion. It’ll be intriguing to see who emerges victorious in the highly-anticipated UFC 300 main event.
Watch Pereira’s entire media day interview below:
