After an endless amount of speculation over the past few months the UFC officially unveiled a light-heavyweight title fight between Alex Pereira and Jamahal Hill as the main event of UFC 300 this past weekend, and now both fighters have reacted to the news.
“It was good for me, to be honest,” Pereira said on his YouTube channel. “I’m happy with this fight. It’s a special edition [of the UFC] where those on it will always be remembered. UFC 300 will be special and everybody knows that. It’s going to be good for me.”
The 205lb champ said he’d already been in training camp with the expectation of fighting at UFC 301 on May 3rd in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, and though he’s jumped at the chance to front UFC 300, he’s still leaving the door open to potentially compete in his homeland too.
“Since I was already talking to the UFC about UFC Brazil and it’s something that was already kind of agreed but didn’t happen, there’s this possibility.
“The UFC likes to see me fighting. I think that would be a good idea if all goes right. If I win and I’m not injured, I would ask for that. But one step at a time. The focus now is to win and defend this belt.”
Meanwhile, former 205lb titleholder Hill revealed that the UFC’s decision to lead with this fight really was a last-minute thing as he didn’t even know until the day before it was announced.
“Everybody wants to be on UFC 300, but realistically it didn’t really come on my radar and didn’t really happen until like yesterday,” Hill told Sportsnet. “I’m not even going to lie – like, yesterday, when he called me, and he let me know the situation.
“Basically the situation was they needed a main event. They had some things lined up but they would have preferred it be me and Alex. It was the first option, it’s what they really wanted. The people definitely wanted it, that’s what people have been asking me for months now, all week. Yeah, it made sense.”
While it’s not the high-profile blockbuster that Dana White had been teasing and fans had been anticipating, Hill still feels proud that he’s been given such a big opportunity.
“It means a lot, just even being considered for it and them asking me to do it is huge,” Hill said. “It’s putting a lot of trust in my abilities and how I’m able to show up to put me at the helm of a card like that, and I appreciate that.”
