Jamahal Hill was not impressed with Alex Pereira’s title win over Jiri Prochazka.
Pereira (9-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) captured the vacant light heavyweight title with a second-round knockout of Prochazka in this past Saturday’s UFC 295 headliner at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Hill thought referee Marc Goddard stopped the fight a little too early, but draws confidence after watching Pereira and Prochazka (29-4-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) fight.
“I thought it ended a little early,” Hill told ESPN during the UFC 295 post-fight show. “But all in all, I was just thinking, like, neither one of these dudes are on my level. Neither one of them – I don’t think they are (as good as me) in any facet of the game, and I can’t wait to get back in full health and be able to show that.”
UFC CEO Dana White said former champion Hill (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) will face Pereira next upon his return from injury – a ruptured achilles tendon which forced him to vacate his 205-pound title. Hill praised Pereira for his game plan against Prochazka.
“I think he did well,” Hill said of Pereira. “I think he came out and he chopped the leg, he got busy on it early. He stayed patient. He showed that you can’t just come out and grab him and take him down and just have that be an easy road to victory.
“He showed a lot of things. He showed he can do what he did at middleweight, at light heavyweight, essentially, so it’s exciting. He made me really excited to get back.”
Hill didn’t think Prochazka showed any ring rust returning from a 16-month layoff. He would have liked Goddard to give Prochazka more of a chance to fight when he was dropped, even though Prochazka agreed with the stoppage.
“(Prochazka) still had his arms clinched around his waist and things like that,” Hill said. “You’ve got to let a champion go out. Jiri is a champion and I feel he did deserve that respect of letting him try to fight through some adversity, and I don’t think he was given that chance fully. But it’s the game.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 295.
