Jamahal Hill is eager to fight Jiri Prochazka if he claims the belt in Brazil.
Hill is facing UFC veteran, Glover Teixeira at UFC 283 this Saturday. It’s the first time the #7 ranked light heavyweight has left the US as he travels to Rio de Janeiro as the underdog. Fighting in Teixeira’s backyard, he will be looking to cause an upset in front of the Brazilian crowd. Regardless, the American certainly isn’t short of confidence when it comes to getting the job done at the weekend. Speaking on UFC media day Hill was already eyeing up his first title defence.
Jamahal Hill Eyes Matchup with Jiri Prochazka Post UFC 283
“It’s not a secret, I’ve been calling for Jiri for years. I’ve been wanting Jiri for years. Even kind of listening to Glover talk this week and he references back to Jiri. I want that fight.” Hill voiced at the UFC 283 media day.
Prochazka was originally the light heavyweight champion after defeating Teixeira in 2022’s fight of the year. He was due to rematch him back in December at UFC 282 but sadly had to pull out due to a serious shoulder injury. Dana White labelled it ‘the worst shoulder injury the doctors have seen in UFC history’. Prochazka predicted on The MMA hour that he will be ready to compete again in the next six months. Instead of holding the division up of an outright champion, the Czech fighter vacated the belt. That leaves some uncertainty on Hill’s end, but believes a bout in the summer would work perfectly.
“It depends on how long. He said he could be back as early as six months. Summer. I’ll wait for that or next man up. It’s next man up,” Hill added.
Quotes via BJ Penn
The Vacant Title on the Line
The UFC was forced into rescheduling a new main event on short notice, controversially Teixeira missed out completely on competing. As a result, Magomed Ankalaev vs. Jan Blachowicz was booked for the vacant title. The fight ended in a split draw, prompting the UFC to act quickly on the mess which was the light heavyweight division. In this case, White wasted no time in announcing during the post-fight press conference that Teixeira and Hill will fight for the title at UFC 283.
Following the announcement, it means that Hill will have to claim gold inside enemy territory. If successful he will become the first graduate from Dana White’s Contender Series to win a UFC championship.
Watch Hill’s Pre Fight Media Scrum
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
