At UFC 283, Jamahal Hill achieved the dream that every mixed martial artist hopes to experience in their career.
Hill became the light heavyweight champion after delivering a spectacular performance against former titleholder and UFC icon Glover Teixeira. Hill captured the hearts of MMA fans around the world with his emotional reaction after realizing he was going to be crowned a UFC champion at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro. During an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, Hill was asked about the moment he felt the weight of the UFC title being strapped around his waist.
“It’s a hard thing to describe,” Hill said. “Almost unreal. Almost like living in a dream. It’s just crazy, the weight of everything that I did and been through. It was a lot.”
Jamahal Hill Lauds Glover Teixeira’s Legendary Toughness
Sharing details on his experience inside the Octagon with Glover Teixeira, Jamahal Hill believes that the Brazilian legend shows a whole other level of toughness by continuing to fight intelligently, even as he faces adversity inside the cage.
“Glover was tough. Like, ya’ll said that right? I think we need to put a little bit more emphasis on it because it’s not just that he’s tough. He’s tough and while he’s being tough, he’s still fighting intelligently. Not for one second did I hit him with something and he was like, ‘Oh sh*t, I don’t want to get hit with whatever’s next.’ He never once did that and that was just crazy. There was one sequence in the third where I hit him with right hand, right hand, elbow, left hand. At no point was he like, ‘Oh sh*t, I need to cover up.'”
Following their highly entertaining scrap last month, Glover Teixeira announced his retirement after more than 20 years of dominance. Teixeira finishes his career with a record of 16-7 in the UFC, and 33-9 overall. 27 of those 33 victories came by way of finish. He holds the record for the most finishes in UFC light heavyweight history and went home with 10 total performance bonuses throughout his UFC career.
His legendary battle with Jiri Prochazka at UFC 275 earned ESPN’s Fight of the Year award.
