Jamahal Hill Identifies Way He Can Expose Alex Pereira's Weakness In Likely Future Fight

The UFC’s light heavyweight division has a champion and some direction once again, with Alex Pereira collecting the title that was vacated by Jamahal Hill this past weekend at Madison Square Garden.

In the UFC 295 main event, Pereira shared the Octagon with former divisional kingpin Jiří Procházka, who had relinquished the belt himself almost a year ago following a serious shoulder injury.

“Denisa” was ultimately unable to regain the crown at the first time of trying, with “Poatan” knocking him out in the second round. The result secured a historic two-division triumph for the Brazilian, who has held both the middleweight and light heavyweight belts in the space of just seven UFC fights.

Having failed to record a successful defense at 185 pounds, Pereira will be looking to cement his grip on the 205-pound gold in 2024. And should his recovery timeline match up with the UFC’s plans, Hill may well be the opening challenger to the new champ’s reign.

“Sweet Dreams” isn’t short on self-belief when it comes to a future collision with “Poatan,” and he’s already started to assess the titleholder’s weaknesses.

Hill Plans To Test Pereira’s Defense

During a recent interview with David Adesanya on the FREESTYLEBENDER YouTube channel, Hill looked ahead to a potential showdown with Pereira in 2024, which UFC CEO Dana White branded the most logical next step in the light heavyweight division.

When it comes to Pereira’s shortcomings, most have pointed to his inexperience in the grappling realm. But having insisted that he’ll defeat “Poatan” on the feet, Hill has looked elsewhere to find holes in the Brazilian’s game.

That’s landed him at the door of the champ’s defense. Believing that Pereira is best protected when he’s offensive, Hill plans on forcing the ex-kickboxer onto the back foot. 

“I have skills and attributes that he just hasn’t dealt with,” Hill said. “I think his whole defense depends on his offense. He protects himself and stays protected behind his offense. If you can make him have to play a defensive first game, I think that’s a weakness for him.” 

While not as credentialed as the former multi-weight Glory Kickboxing champion, Hill’s power and striking threat has been on full display inside the Octagon, with the likes of Johnny Walker, Thiago Santos, Jimmy Crute, and Ovince Saint Preux falling victim to it.

“Sweet Dreams” will look to add Pereira to that list by blemishing his record at light heavyweight for the first time next year.

This https://t.co/HhhqwPYiAK

— Jamahal Hill (@JamahalH) November 13, 2023

• Read Also: Jamahal Hill Reacts To Alex Pereira’s UFC 295 Title Win: ‘I’m On A Different Level Than What I Saw’

Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.