Jamahal Hill says his reaction to Alex Pereira’s finish of Khalil Rountree was taken out of context.
Hill (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) was in attendance to watch light heavyweight champion Pereira brutally TKO Rountree in Round 4 of Saturday’s UFC 307 main event in Salt Lake City. Rountree won the first two rounds before getting finished.
After Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) stopped Rountree (13-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC), the camera panned to Hill, who was seen yawning. Hill’s yawning reaction was understood by many as him thinking the fight was boring.
“It’s crazy how y’all see a clip with no context, no nothing, and y’all just be ready to talk sh*t and just attack and come disrespectful as ever,” Hill said on his YouTube channel. “It’s hilarious.
“I wasn’t mic’d up or anything like that, so I couldn’t explain the context of the yawn and things like that after the fight. I think I did hear a reporter told Alex, ‘Oh, Jamahal said the fight was boring.’ I never said the fight was boring.”
Hill was knocked out in the first round of his title fight against Pereira at UFC 300 in April. He predicted that Pereira would struggle against a southpaw like Rountree, and explains that his yawn was just him implying that he knew the fight would pan out like that.
“Now, to the yawn, the yawn at the end was – was it entertaining? Yes,” Hill said. “Was I impressed? No. I’m not impressed. You know, I’m ready to go. Did I see anything in the cage that scares me or that I didn’t expect to see? No.
“So as far as reacting and everything, I don’t think I really need to do much of a reaction to this fight because, before, if you watch, or you watch my breakdowns, you can see I told you exactly how this fight was going to go.”
Alex Pereira reacts to Jamahal Hill yawning at his #UFC307 title defense.
"Maybe he just woke up from UFC 300." pic.twitter.com/jk7LVrfUga
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) October 6, 2024
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.
