Jamahal Hill was blown away by Max Holloway and Justin Gaethje’s epic encounter at UFC 300.
Not long before ‘Sweet Dreams’ stepped into the main event spotlight for a clash with light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, fans inside T-Mobile Arena and those watching around the world were treated to an instant classic as Holloway and Gaethje went head-to-head for the UFC’s bragging rights belt, the BMF title.
‘Blessed’ was well on his way to a unanimous decision victory when he called for Gaethje to stand and bang with him for the final 10 seconds. With one final tick on the clock, Holloway unleashed an overhand right that immediately rendered Gaethje unconscious, sending him crashing to the canvas at the 24:59 mark.
Speaking with James Lynch in a MiddleEasy exclusive interview, Hill revealed that he had the same reaction as everyone else when he saw Holloway turn ‘The Highlight’ into exactly that.
“I think it was a great fight,” Hill said. “A great show put on by two warriors. They went toe-to-toe and one man had to go. One man had to go down. That’s usually the thing. You stand your grand and swing heavy punches at each other, somebody might go down and Gaethje was on the other side of that.
“He’s must-see TV. This is why we love Justin Gaethje. This is why we love Max Holloway. These guys, they come out and put it on the line. They care more about the show than their health, and that’s a thing for most fighters that I wish people respected a little bit more. But it was an incredible moment. I jumped up. I know the UFC’s got a recording of it somewhere in the back of me hopping up like holy sh*t. My reaction was like everybody else’s. It was crazy.”
Jamahal Hill Comments on Ryan Garcia’s Shocking Win Over Devin Haney
Jamahal Hill was also asked about one of the biggest news stories in combat sports this month — Ryan Garcia’s incredible decision victory over Devin Haney. More specifically, the massive troll job that ‘King Ryan’ seemingly pulled off, causing practically everyone to believe that he had suffered a complete mental breakout in the months ahead of fight night.
“Just another thing that goes to show that people just watch fighting and they’re not really in it so they don’t really know the ins and outs of fighting,” Hill said while discussing Garcia’s alleged trolling. “They don’t really know if that was a beer he was drinking [at the weigh-ins]. That could have been water.”
Garcia had practically everyone fooled after he made outlandish and downright disturbing allegations. As a result, the Nevada State Athletic Commission requested a mental health assessment be conducted on Garcia before being allowed to fight Devin Haney.
He was even booted from a New York Mets baseball game during fight week for fear that there would be a repeat of his physical altercation with Haney atop the Empire State Building.
As a result of his antics, sportsbooks had Garcia as a massive underdog, something ‘King Ryan’ would capitalize on by reportedly placing a $2 million bet on himself to win his fight at +600 odds. Once the fight was over, Garcia turned in a ticket worth $12 million.
Watch the full exclusive interview below: