Jamahal Hill's priority right now is recovering from the injury that kept him out of UFC 303 and doing everything in his power to secure a rematch with Alex Pereira.
Ahead of Saturday's bout, Hill was originally scheduled to face Carlos Ulberg but was forced to withdraw due to a knee injury. The former UFC light heavyweight champion posted a lengthy video responding to Demetrious Johnson's criticism of his loss to Pereira at UFC 300. Hill also provided analysis of various angles of the bout to explain why he actually thought everything was going well for him before Pereira knocked him down with a big punch just a few minutes into the bout.
Hill promised this would be his last time speaking about the fight.
“I'm literally just saying this to talk about what happened,” Hill said on his YouTube channel. “I just want to point out what happened from my perspective, the fact that, 'Oh man, he can't accept losing and he needs to deal with it.' The most painful thing I've ever felt in this game was when I lost to Paul Craig by zero points. I was sitting there, locked in submission and couldn't use my arm, and I was like, 'Oh shit, I'm going to lose.' I literally remember that feeling. I remember it vividly and it was very, very painful for me. I went out that night with the guy and partied and enjoyed life with that guy after that.”
“The loss doesn't matter to me at all. I'm just saying what happened.”
Most of the analysis focused on the final sequence, when Hill kicked Pereira low and referee Herb Dean stepped forward to pause the match for a foul, but the Brazilian ignored it.
Moments later, Pereira landed a punch that knocked Hill down with one final blow.
“I'm not mad at him because he's a tenacious fighter,” Hill said of Pereira. “Obviously, it sucks to be in a bad spot, but he did what he had to do. He furthered his brand. He defended his belt and all that. Kudos to him.”
As for the future, Hill first needs to get healthy, but has his sights set on the main event of UFC 303, where Pereira will face former champion Jiri Prochazka for the second time.
Pereira knocked out Prochazka in their first fight of 2023. With a main event spot open after Conor McGregor withdrew from his bout with Michael Chandler, both 205-pound fighters were rushed into the bout, with Pereira looking to make it two wins in a row.
Hill doesn't seem too concerned about who wins or loses, and the same can be said about the title fight, but he promises he has some unfinished business to settle with Pereira.
“I wish you the best of luck in your rematch with Ili,” Hill said, addressing Pereira directly. “If you lose, I don't care if you get offered a title fight. It's me vs you. If you win, I'll beat the next guy and see you soon. If you lose? See you soon.”
It has not yet been revealed how long Hill will be sidelined with the injury.
