This was announced in an interview with Submission Radio by the Nigerian coach Eugene Bairman.
“Let’s do it,” said the specialist. “I haven’t seen Jamal Hill fight because I only watch my guys fight, but if he is the UFC champion, then he is the best of the best, and I’m sure it will be a very difficult challenge. I saw him at Izzy’s post-fight party and he seemed like a nice guy, but that’s not about it, it’s about the challenge that he is. So go ahead, let’s do it! I think we’ll talk about it soon.”
In March 2021, Israel Adesanya moved up to light heavyweight and suffered his first loss of his career, losing a five-round unanimous decision to then-defining division champion Jan Blachowicz.
Jamal Hill, who won the vacant UFC light heavyweight title against Glover Teixeira in January of this year, plans to defend his title against ex-division champion Jiri Prochazka, however, this fight is still in doubt as the Czech fighter continues to recover from surgery on shoulder.