UFC 300 Main Event Pick
UFC 300 MAIN EVENT PICK – This big one is finally here. Two legitimate title fights and another novelty belt on the line to determine who the next BMF is, the UFC has done their best to bedazzle UFC 300 and I think they did the best they could. With their biggest stars in Conor McGregor and Sean O’Malley unable to make the date, they turn to one of their next biggest stars and putting him up against the next fighter in line for his title.
Alex Pereira looks to successfully defend his light heavyweight championship for the first time after winning it against Jiri Prochazka in November.
Jamahal Hill returns from an Achilles injury that forced him to relinquish the title he fights for this weekend.
Will the reigning champion continue to Poatan era at 205? Or will Hill snatch the belt that he never lost and once again become the kingpin at light heavyweight? Read on to see how these strikers clash and who deserves your money to cash you some cheddar on this monumental event.
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Alex Pereira
There may never be another fighter who elevated himself amongst the UFC ranks the way Pereira has. It was evident the only reason he made the transition to the UFC was to chase his archnemesis from kickboxing, Israel Adesanya.
It took him three wins to position himself for a title fight and he made the most of it by finishing Adesanya in the final round of their epic UFC 281 clash. Adesanya was able to exact his revenge in their rematch at UFC 287, which caused Pereira to move up a division where the weight cut was not as taxing on him.
He was successful in defeating former champion Jan Blachowicz, thus the UFC vaulted him right into a title fight against former champion, Jiri Prochazka. Pereira was successful once again and added a second UFC title to his mantle within the span of seven UFC bouts over two years.
Pereira brought in a successful kickboxing career that saw him win multiple Glory Kickboxing championships. After aligning himself with Glover Teixeira, he decided to jump back into the MMA game, a sport he had accrued a 3-1 record from 2015-2020. Pereira has used the skills bestowed upon him from Teixeira in the grappling realm to help him keep fights standing where he often has an advantage over his opponents.
His check left hook is a thing of nightmares as he has finished many opponents with it. Calf kicks are usually on the menu for Pereira as he is able to batter his opponent’s lead leg to open up opportunities to let his hands go.
Jamahal Hill
Coming off the Contender Series in 2019, I’m not sure many people clocked Hill as a potential UFC champion, but he did the work and ended up making it happen. He started his UFC run 3-0 (one of the fights ended up being changed to a no contest due to a failed drug test), then ran into Paul Craig who broke Hill’s arm.
Hiss returned quickly, just six months later and began the winning streak that would lead him to a title shot. Wins over Jimmy Crute, Johnny Walker, and Thiago Santos, the last two of which were main event slots, positioned him to take on Glover Teixeira for the vacant title in January 2023.
Hill’s strength has been his ability to establish is range and utilize long-range weapons to batter his opponents until he was able to knock them out. He initially struggled in the grappling aspects of MMA, but the Glover Teixeira fight was great look for him as he managed to stuff 15 of 17 takedown attempts.
Even when he was taken to the ground, he did a great job of immediately working back to his feet and getting back to his handy work. Throwing with deceiving power, Hill often waits for the perfect opening to let his hands go to punish his opponents. I’ve long had issues with some of his striking defense habits, but it has worked for him thus far as he has let to lose by knockout.
The Pick
This is such a fantastic fight between two different strikers. Technically speaking, Pereira has the advantage with his cleaner, crisper striking techniques. He also has tremendous power he can generate in short bursts, which may end up being the difference maker here. The big aspect of this fight that I don’t believe is being talked about much, is the short notice nature that Hill is taking this fight after such a devastating injury that he suffered. He had surgery in July, which usually requires about six months of recovery.
That puts Hill’s recovery being completed in mid-January and the fight was not scheduled until mid-February. To jump right back into a tough camp against a champion might not be the best for someone coming back from such a significant injury. I believe Hill was not going to turn down this opportunity at all given the magnitude of the 300th PPV event and the chance to fight for his title again. Mix that in with all the other advantages I expect Pereira to have in the striking realm, I’d put Pereira around -150. Getting him closer to -130/-140 is a great spot to take a shot on him.