Fresh off a knockout win over Thiago Santos in the UFC Vegas 59 main event, Jamahal Hill isn’t giving up hope that his next fight could be a title shot.
As much as that might seem like wishful thinking with UFC light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka welcoming an immediate rematch against Glover Teixeira in his first title defense, Hill hasn’t seen any contracts signed or announcements made on that matchup.
That’s why he doesn’t see any reason he shouldn’t be in consideration for the opportunity, especially after Prochazka earned his own shot at gold after only two fights in the UFC.
“We have seen it before,” Hill stated on The MMA Hour . “That’s how [Jiri] got the belt. The belt was awarded to him after he jumped (*). Alex Pereira , go down one weight class This is not a leap? Everyone else is jumping around. Jump ‘Sweet Dreams” around ?”
Perhaps even more than the title shot, Hill has always liked the way he matches up with Prochazka since the Czech native first arrived in the promotion. It’s a fight he’s wanted for quite some time, but he couldn’t imagine a better scenario than facing Prochazka for the belt.
“I feel like I match up with Jiri phenomenally,” Hill said. Hill said, “I believe that that fight would be an amazing fight and that I can take on that fight. It would make a fantastic fight. It’s a great showing. I feel like it would be very marketable.”
While Hill isn’t exactly revealing any secrets, he said that he has seen tendencies in Prochazka fights which give him a stronger belief that they would win.
Even as Hill commends Prochazka on the durability he showed in his first fight against Teixeira, the 31-year-old contender promises the same mistakes in a fight against him would end in disaster.
” I think he displayed a lot of strength [against Teixeira],” Hill stated. I think he showed great athleticism, great strength, durability and physical ability, but I also saw some holes in his game that I can take advantage of and things that I do well that I feel would give him trouble and lead to his downfall.
“He takes great shots. He’s usually unable to walk for two seconds after he is hit with a clean shot. You don’t get one shot. I want more. I’m coming for multiple. He’s not ready to do .”
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If Prochazka is ultimately unavailable, Hill realizes his options suddenly become a lot more limited. Although there are possible matchups with Jan Blachowicz or Magomed Ankalaev out there, Hill realizes that his options suddenly become more limited. Based on UFC rankings it appears likely that the pair will face each other in a No. 1 contender’s matchup. That leaves Hill on the outside looking in.
Aleksandar Rakic has just had surgery to repair his knee and Anthony Smith will be having surgery to fix his broken leg.
One possible alternative could be Paul Craig, a Scottish submission specialist who was the one to blame for Hill’s only career loss. But he doesn’t really see that as a viable option based on what both of them have done since that first encounter. While he’s on a three-fight winning streak with every victory coming by way of knockout, Craig most recently suffered a unanimous decision loss to Volkan Oezdemir in July.
“I mean that’s definitely one I want to get back, but coming off the performance that I’m coming off of and his last performance, that don’t benefit me at all,” Hill said. If we are talking about main event pay per view, heck yeah, let’s run it .”
Until he’s told otherwise, Hill is just going to keep pushing for a title fight against Prochazka. He would be open to any opportunity, even if they were denied.
“S***, if you want another option out there, I’m going to put myself out there as another option,” Hill said. Hill said, “I don’t know how they are doing. I don’t know what everybody’s health is like but I’m just going to put it out there and say I’m ready to fight. I am ready to fight. Even if it’s for the title, I’m ready to go.”
