Jamahal Hill set to face former champ in light heavyweight return at UFC 311

Jamahal Hill faces a new challenge in his upcoming return at UFC 311 in Los Angeles.

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill is almost a full year away from his next Octagon assignment after a knockout loss to Alex Pereira.

Hill was originally scheduled to co-headline UFC 303 against Khalil Rountree Jr. before withdrawing due to injury. His recovery took the rest of 2024 and capped a frustrating year for the former defending champions.

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But Hill has a chance to bounce back and get back into the title mix, as announced on Saturday's UFC Macau broadcast. Hill will face Jiří Procházka at UFC 311 on Jan. 18 at the Intuit Dome, the new home of the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers.

Immediately after announcing the fight, Procházka broke his silence on social media ahead of UFC 311.

“It's a fight, it's a joy to live and create the best yourself,” Procházka posted on Instagram. “Let's get it!!!”

As of this writing, Hill has not posted anything on social media referencing the UFC 311 booking.

Jamahal Hill vs. Jiri Procházka booked for UFC 311 showdown

Hill and Procházka are two of Pereira's most recent title challengers. Hill became champion by TKO at UFC 300 in April. Procházka has lost to Pereira twice in the past year, including in a short-notice rematch booking at UFC 303 after Conor McGregor withdrew from the card.

While this will be Hill and Procházka's first fight in their careers, their journeys have been linked in recent years. After Hill won Procházka's vacated title against Glover Teixeira at UFC 283, he suffered an injury months later, which led to Procházka facing Pereira for the newly vacated title at UFC 295.

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Before the loss to Pereira at UFC 300, Hill was on a roll in the UFC light heavyweight division, posting recent TKO victories over Thiago Santos, Johnny Walker and Jimmy Crute. He wants to avoid the first losing streak of his career and stage a comeback similar to his UFC 263 loss to Paul Craig.

Meanwhile, Procházka returns to the Octagon for the first time since UFC 303, a short-notice knockout loss to Pereira. Procházka regained some momentum in a come-from-behind victory against Aleksandar Rakić at UFC 300.

Procházka captured the light heavyweight throne by defeating Teixeira via fifth-round submission at UFC 275. Before that, he scored brutal knockout victories over former title challengers Dominick Reyes and Volkan Oezdemir.

Jamahal Hill and Jiri Procházka will battle for a potential No. 1 spot

Pereira is expected to face rising contender Magomed Ankalaev for his next light heavyweight title shot. Most recently, he defended the title against Rountree at UFC 307, and weeks later Ankalaev cemented himself as the consensus next title challenger by defeating Rakić at UFC 308.

Hill and Procházka have a chance to cement themselves as the next man to potentially face the winner of Pereira versus Ankalaev. In recent months, Hill has been taunting the light heavyweight champion and setting up an intriguing rematch.

At the time of writing, the main event of UFC 311 has not yet been announced by the promotion, although Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan 2 is rumored to be the favorite to headline.

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