Jamahal Hill responds to criticism of UFC 300 main title fight booking vs. Alex Pereira
Jamahal Hill has read and heard it all after the announcement of his UFC 300 main event billing against light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.
The milestone event was promised by UFC CEO Dana White to be topped by a mindblowing headliner, and some do not believe that Hill’s return from an Achilles injury against Pereira for the title fits that description.
Whether that assessment is fair or foul, Hill doesn’t understand the outrage that followed the official announcement, because the card is loaded with top-tier talent and matchups.
“The reaction to this has been kind of a mix of things here and there,” Hill said in a video on his YouTube channel. “It’s been a lot of outrage, a lot of disappointment and things like that. To be honest, it’s crazy to me because, for the most part, a lot of these people are the same people that spent the better part of a year or however long calling me a crybaby. But it’s crazy to see how a card can be stacked – the main card literally has a former champion or champion in every single fight. … Each one of the prelims is worthy of being its own separate main event. And people are crying.
“Like, let’s really be real. It’s really, really crying because you had unreal expectations for something. Now granted, Dana may have – well, he did overstep with some of the comments he made, but he had every intention on delivering on those comments. As you know, anybody who’s followed the UFC for some time, whenever Dana tries to tell you he’s trying to deliver something, he wouldn’t talk like that if he wasn’t trying to deliver something that you people would feel is mindblowing or otherworldly.”
While fan expectations may have been unrealistic for the UFC 300 main event considering availability and the promotion’s hectic year-round schedule, Hill vs. Pereira is a fight that is worthy of a headlining slot. But Hill isn’t sure that any matchup with real fighters or comic book superheroes would have satisfied fans.
“I seen one comment it said, ‘I was expecting Conor vs. Jesus himself,'” Hill said laughing. “At this point, I’m convinced that wouldn’t have been enough. Like y’all could have got Mario vs. King Kong, y’all could have got Wolverine vs. Iron Man. You could have got anything. Hulk vs. Superman, Spiderman vs. Batman, you could have got any of this and you wouldn’t have been happy.”
Regardless of the contentious feedback Hill has observed, he promises to bring an entertaining fight to one of the biggest stages the UFC has ever created.
“People are going to say whatever they’re going to say,” Hill said. “I already know how my fights are and how my fights affect people. Whenever I step in that cage, y’all will be watching. It will be entertaining and it’s going to be action. You already know how I’m coming every single fight, and it’s must see TV. Same with Alex Pereira. We both put it on the line. We’ve shown you who we are through blood, sweat and tears. I have true belief that the true fans, which I believe that pool runs very, very deep in the community, they will lock in and they know exactly what they’re getting in this fight. One hundred percent.
“… ‘Sweet Dreams’ is back, man. It’s time for the king to come back, reclaim his throne and remind y’all. Because y’all seem to have forgot what happens when I come in there and these (hands) get to work.”