Jamahal Hill shared his side of the story about what happened between him and UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira at the UFC Performance Institute on Thursday.
The bad blood between Alex Pereira and Jamahal Hill reached a boiling point when they bumped into each other while training at the UFC PI in Las Vegas. In a now-viral clip, Pereira and Hill almost came to blows after a heated verbal argument, with Pereira challenging Hill to a fight and throwing gloves at him.
Fortunately, Pereira's coach Plinio Cruz separated the two light heavyweights, and in the end cooler heads prevailed. But the altercation between Pereira and Hill made waves after weeks of online chatter between the two parties.
Hill, who regularly trains at the UFC PI, has since explained his version of events on what led to him and Pereira almost throwing hands.
Jamahal Hill details what happened to Alex Pereira at the UFC PI
During a recent episode of War Council, Hill gave his side of what happened between him and Pereira at the UFC PI.
“I was at the PI before, Alex was there. I had just finished training, he was training and I went upstairs to have a conversation. Ask him what we are doing? We don't have to talk on Twitter because I'm here,” Hill said. “When I initially went to him, it went smoothly. “Don't run to heavyweight and I'll continue to take care of business, and we need to turn it back!” And during the conversation he said something to his translator, and his translator said: 'He said you were still asleep, woke up and kissed!'. I'm wide awake now! You can actually be put to sleep!
“Then it kind of went to a fake a** 'Yeah, come get the gloves and get in the cage'. What the hell do we need gloves for? We're not getting paid right now. I get paid to put on gloves and fight. If I am in such a situation, we can roll up our sleeves right now! I'm not going to wait, take my time, put on gloves or any of that stuff. We can throw hands now! And his response was to just stand there. So fuck it, we get paid. I'm not going to ruin my bread because this is what it's all about, right? If I just reached out and hit him there, I might lose my next fight and whatever chances I have left. Restrictions now with the PI and all that other stuff… we made a lot of money the first time we fought, so why shouldn't I make a lot of money the next time I knock him out?
Pereira knocked out Hill earlier this year in the UFC 300 main event, a fight that was booked weeks in advance. Before the knockout on the hill, Pereira earned the then-vacant title by defeating Jiří Procházka at UFC 295.
Hill returns to the Octagon next month against Jiří Procházka at UFC 311, his first Octagon appearance since the Pereira fight. A win over Procházka would likely earn him a title shot for his next fight.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill 2 adds to the potential 2025 UFC wish list
Pereira recently defended his UFC light heavyweight title by beating Khalil Rountree Jr. to finish at UFC 307. A cageside mound yawned in response to Pereira's win, prompting a fiery response from the champion.
Although Hill is keen to get a second shot at Pereira, he will likely have to wait in favor of Magomed Ankalaev, who is undefeated for a long time. Pereira is expected to face Ankalaev for his next title defense next year, although a timetable for his return is uncertain.
One thing is abundantly clear; there remains no love between Pereira and Hill after their UFC 300 clash. It could only be a matter of time before these two giants face off again, and after their viral altercation, the rematch is bigger than initially thought.
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