Jamahal Hill expects to face former champion Jiri Prochazka, who vacated the championship in December due to a shoulder injury, in his first title defense.
Follow Us
Jamahal Hill acknowledges that a future goal of his is to compete against Jon Jones. The recently minted UFC light heavyweight champion Hill (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) is aware that a meeting with Jones (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC) in the near future is improbable given their divergent professional trajectories. Later on, he most definitely does not rule anything out.
Jones had previously owned the 205-pound title that Hill now has. When he made the decision to step up to heavyweight, he didn’t lose the strap in the cage; instead, he vacated it. After a long absence, Jones will make his comeback on March 4 when he competes against Ciryl Gane for the vacant heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 285.
READ MORE: ‘I am scared off to be trapped’ – Francis Ngannou on why he left UFC
Hill would like to fight alongside Jones whether or not he takes home the championship. Hill told the “Believe You Me” podcast that Jones is a big reason why he’s had so much success in MMA, even if he’s not sure when or how it would happen.
“Yeah, 1,000% – I want to eventually build to a fight against Jon,” Hill said. “He’s the ultimate test. He was from the time that I came and decided I want to make this run. At first, when it started it was Anderson Silva. He was the man. It was 2010 and things like that, but when he had his injury, I kind of fell off from the sport.
“That’s another reason why I started working (a day job). I didn’t see the money in it and all of that, then Conor (McGregor) happened. But Conor got that because he had (Jose) Aldo, who had been undefeated for 10 years. He had somebody to chase. I needed somebody to chase, and this whole time I’ve been chasing Jon. I’m interested in that fight.”
Hill will want to defend his 205-pound belt in the near future. Jiri Prochazka, a previous champion, has been mentioned as the man he wants to face for the championship. However, it is unclear whether Prochazka will be able to recover in time to compete by July or August when Hill recently told MMA Junkie he plans to make a comeback.
Get the latest from Sportslumo.com by following us on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
Stephen Thompson declines the quick turnaround fight and wants Usman next.
