Jamahal Hill says he’s fully ready to go for the main event of UFC 300.
The former light heavyweight champion suffered an Achilles tendon injury in July, which prompted him to vacate the title. Hill has been on the mend since, but is now set to make his return to the octagon in the headliner of UFC 300 against current champ Alex Pereira.
The UFC explored many options for the main event of the upcoming pay-per-view on April 13 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Shortly after the conclusion of UFC 298, promotion CEO Dana White announced the bout between Hill and Pereira, which drew plenty of criticism.
Regardless of the reaction to the matchup itself, Hill assures that he has taken care of everything properly on his road to recovery, and his injury will not be an issue when he steps into the octagon.
“Another one of the big questions around it has been my health,” Hill said in a video on his YouTube channel. “‘Oh, he’s rushing back,’ and things like that. No, I’m not rushing back. I’ve been training, I’ve been sparring, I’ve been at a full go now for a few weeks now. There’s been no setbacks. Nothing hindering anything. When I’m saying full go, I mean this is me doing everything full speed, full on like I would when I normally train. So, there’s no concerns. My Achilles is not an issue. It’s not a problem at all.”
Hill won the vacant light heavyweight title by defeating Glover Teixeira in a Fight of the Night battle at UFC 283, which was among the best fights of the year. Unfortunately, before he could begin his run with the title, he was injured during a game of basketball with other fighters, putting his career on hold.
Instead of holding up the division and forcing the promotion to create an interim title, Hill decided to vacate so he could focus on recovery. Now, he says he’s ready to go thanks to his dedication to getting back to peak condition.
“The minute this happened, I jumped in immediately with the best,” Hill said. “I got the same doctor Kobe Bryant had. The same doctor Aaron Rodgers had. I relocated, brought myself with members of my team out here to Las Vegas to be with the very best in this field – in my recovery, with my treatment, with everything, so I can have all the best resources at my disposal. Everything locked in so I can make sure that my leg is good, that I’m back, that I can be the fighter and the athlete that I am.
“I’m still him, and I’m back. I took some time off. I did everything right. I’ve been doing strength and conditioning five days a week. PT ten times a week, twice a day. It’s time. I put everything into it. It’s been a long road and it feels good to be back. I don’t care what anybody say, can’t nothing bring me down in this moment. I’ll see y’all soon.”
