UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira captured all the spotlight in the 205-pound division. Jamahal Hill, Jiri Prochazka and Khalil Rountree Jr. suffered brutal knockout losses to ‘Poatan’ in 2024. Up next, Magomed Ankalaev will face the champion next. The Dagestani fighter has talked a big game in recent times and one contender in particular took offense to it.
This ensued a beef between the former champion Jamahal Hill against Magomed Ankalaev. In a recent interview with Inside Fighting, the American fighter double down on his feud with the Dagestani fighter. Hill unloaded an NSFW rant against his rival and detailed his reasons for wanting to knock him out. The 33-year-old fighter even touched upon a particular moment that gave rise to this beef.
I really don’t f**k with him much….so f**k him and yeah I’d love nothing more than to put his b***h a*s to sleep….I’ll even say things and I am not even f***ing talking to this weirdo and then he’s coming and trying to take shots at me…He sees that fanbase has a thing for me, so he kinda tries to ride that wave.
Jamahal Hill via Inside Fighting
Going back a few months, Hill gave a negative reaction to UFC 307 booking Alex Pereira and Khalil Rountree Jr. He dubbed the booking terrible for the sport, and even took a dig UFC brass for disrespecting the rankings. This post fetched an immediate reaction from Ankalaev, who called for Hill to stop crying. It looks like this response didn’t go well with the former title holder.
Jamahal Hill went OFF on Magomed Ankalaev 😳
“I want to knock Magomed out… he’s a b*tch and he f***ing talks like a b*tch and he acts like a b*tch.
I’d love nothing more than to put his b*tch ass to sleep.”
🎥 @InsideFighting_ #UFC #MMApic.twitter.com/v6LHBKLnNa
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) November 25, 2024
The number 1 ranked light heavyweight contender blamed UFC for continues title snub. Agreeing with the contender, even UFC Hall Famer Daniel Cormier gave his support for the Dagestani fighter. Now, the UFC has spoken about booking ‘Poatan’ vs. Ankalaev next. Despite Hill’s disagreement with the Dagestani fighter, he picked him to beat Pereira in a potential bout.
Jamahal Hill lists down reasons why Magomed Ankalaev can defeat Alex Pereira
Former champion Jamahal Hill feels that Alex Pereira has a lot of holes in his game despite his dominant run. The light heavyweight star specified the glaring disparity in wrestling acumen that could work well against the Brazilian fighter. On top of that, he also stated that Pereira’s game plan of exerting more pressure could work against him.
Jamahal Hill picks Magomed Ankalaev to beat Alex Pereira (Image via Open Source)Hailing from the mountains of Dagestan certainly grants Ankalaev an edge in the wrestling department. This has made him a true test in UFC for the Brazilian, but Hill believes he can finish the fight in the standup. Listing down all his reasons in the same interview, Hill went on to vouch for Ankalaev to upset Pereira.
Alex is a pressure fighter. He is a forward pressure fighter; he throws shots; he sits in them; he wants to stay heavy and hard on his shots…he leaves himself exposed to be countered and Ankalaev counters with combination…plus he is a southpaw, that’s a factor that’s another factor of a puzzle that he’s gonna have to figure out.
Jamahal Hill via Inside fighting
The division has finally attained some stability after Pereira took over in 2023. Prior to the Brazilian’s reign, the light heavyweight title turned into a hot potato with strap changing hands many times. Poatan’s domination in 205 is set in stone with his 2024 run. It would be quite intriguing to see who can push him to the edge. Thus far, he hasn’t suffered a hiccup in the 205 weight-class.
