Jamahal Hill gives edge to Jan Blachowicz against Alex Pereira at UFC 291
UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill gives the edge to Jan Blachowicz against Alex Pereira at UFC 291.
Hill won the vacant UFC light heavyweight title earlier this year when he defeated Glover Teixeira at UFC 283. He has not defended his belt since then but is expected to fight former champ Jiri Prochazka in his first title defense by the year’s end. However, since Prochazka is not healthy yet, it’s possible someone else could get the next title shot first.
One of the potential title challengers at 205 lbs is the winner of the upcoming light heavyweight bout at UFC 291 between the former champ Blachowicz and the former middleweight champ Pereira. On paper, this looks like a fight that could absolutely produce the next No. 1 contender, and it’s certainly not an easy fight to call.
Speaking to Middle Easy in a recent interview, Hill was asked who he favors between Blachowicz and Pereira, and “Sweet Dreams” said he would give the edge to Blachowicz due to his grappling skills.
“I think the winner of that is definitely a No. 1 contender. Who do I think wins the fight? I don’t know. I’d give the edge in the fight to Jan for the simple fact that Jan can strike. He has the ability to outstrike Pereira, plus the ability to take him down, tie him up, wear on him, and beat him up if he’s able to expose the lack of grappling in his game,” Hill said (via MMAjunkie.com).
“On the other hand, Alex is Alex. He’s got ‘Poatan’ stone hands. He can land big shots, he can easily clip Jan and put him away. He’s a big dude, too. He wasn’t a small middleweight. He’s gonna have some good size, some good length in there. If he can get his strikes going to work, he can probably take Jan out.”
Do you agree with Jamahal Hill that Jan Blachowicz should have the edge over Alex Pereira at UFC 291?
