T.J. Dillashaw was undeniably impressed with Alex Pereira’s sensational first-round knockout of Jamahal Hill.
‘Poatan’ closed out UFC 300 with a bang, putting ‘Sweet Dreams’ to sleep with a booming left uppercut to retain his light heavyweight title at the landmark event in Las Vegas.
Alex Pereira just NUKED Jamahal Hill in the first round to cap off #UFC300 pic.twitter.com/W7XxsfWx42
— OddSmokerSteve (@OddSmokerSteve) April 14, 2024
Looking back on the highlight-reel finish during an appearance on the JAXXON podcast with Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, the two-time bantamweight champion marveled at Pereira’s impressive performance and the fact that before he was bodying people at 205, Pereira was winning titles at middleweight.
“Him getting a belt at 185 was insanely fast, right? He just skyrocketed to the top,” Dillashaw said. “Then he became a two-division champion. Now he’s just solidified it. I really hope they let him fight heavyweights. I want him to fight Tom Aspinall because, at the end of the fight, he says he wants to fight heavyweights. I mean, he walks around at 230. How did he fight at 185?”
T.J. Dillashaw Believes The Weak Ground Game of Alex Pereira Would Prevent Him From Competing Against Jon Jones
While Dillashaw hopes to see Alex Pereira put his skills to the test at heavyweight someday, ‘Lieutenant Dan’ recognizes that ‘Poatan’ could struggle against the likes of a fighter like Tom Aspinall due to some glaring holes in his MMA game.
“I mean, you’ve seen that he’s not very good on the ground,” Dillashaw added. “He’s the champion, but he’s got some holes in his game, but he’s such a good kickboxer. The way he’s learned MMA so fast is incredible, but he’s got some holes in his game for sure.”
He continued, “I think it’s obvious that he’s the best kickboxer we’ve had in the UFC. It’s his wrestling and grappling [that need improvement]. I think we’ve seen a fight where [he was taken down] and he had no idea how to get back to his feet. Obviously, he’s probably working on it. He’s got an amazing jiu-jitsu fighter in his corner, Teixeirar, so I’m sure he’s evolving. I haven’t seen him grapple in a while so he could be fixing those holes. I have no idea, but if I was a 205’er and I watched him fight, I know what I’m f*cking doing. I’m taking this guy down.”
As for how he sees things playing out in a potential scrap between Alex Pereira the UFC’s undisputed heavyweight world champion, Dillashaw believes ‘Bones’ would “easily” outwork ‘Poatan’ on the mat and walk away the victor.
“Jon Jones would just outwrestle him,” Dillashaw said. “Easily.”
Watch the full podcast episode below:
