Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill made a surprising pick for Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev.
Alex Pereira faces arguably the toughest test of his light heavyweight title reign against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313. After three successful title defenses in 2024, Pereira is riding a ton of momentum into 2025, but so is Ankalaev.
Ankalaev earned the light heavyweight title shot after a 13-fight unbeaten streak, including recent wins over Aleksandar Rakić and Johnny Walker. He fought for the then-vacant light heavyweight belt at UFC 282 against Jan Blachowicz, but the fight went to a majority draw, and the belt remained vacant.
Enter Jamahal Hill, who won the belt at UFC 283 just weeks after Ankalaev’s first title shot. Hill clashed with Pereira at UFC 300, losing by knockout after returning from a long hiatus due to injury.
Hill has differences with Pereira and Ankalaev, but despite past hostilities, he’s keeping a keen eye on the UFC 313 main event. But his pick for who will win on Saturday night might surprise you.
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Jamahal Hill breaks down and picks UFC 313 main event featuring Alex Pereira
During a recent episode of the War Council podcast, Hill predicted Pereira vs. Ankalaev.
“I don’t f—— like Ankalaev…but I do respect what he’s done as a fighter,” Hill said. “Magomed’s striking is seriously being slept on here. I don’t believe Pereira sits back and wants to fight out of the pocket, he wants to put the pressure on him and land shots on the outside. The problem is? Magomed is a counter striker. He waits for you to throw, overexert yourself, and even off of feints, he’s countering you. Counters with combinations, fast, and mixes up his punches…
“For Pereira, the low kicks are there…he would have to produce those in volume,” Hill continued. “Alex is going to have produce a lot of volume in this fight to give Ankalaev problems…those power shots are going to have to come as counters. Draw him out of his hole, out of his shell, and then hit him with a big counter. That body jab that he throws will be money. I believe he should work those until he’s able to draw Magomed out…I’m going to go with Magomed, I just feel he has more tools to win…he’ll be a lot more focused, locked in for this.”
If Pereira wins this weekend, he’ll break Jon Jones’s light heavyweight record for the fastest to successfully defend the belt four times (329 days). Ankalaev is also within striking distance of Jones’s record-setting unbeaten light heavyweight streak.
Jamahal Hill and Alex Pereira got into heated altercation at the UFC PI ahead of UFC 313
Hill is looking to get back into the light heavyweight title conversation after a TKO loss to Jiří Procházka at UFC 311. Leading up to the fight, Hill and Pereira got into a heated altercation at the UFC PI, which nearly escalated into a physical scuffle.
Hill also has beef with Ankalaev stemming from a series of social media barbs between the two sides. During the podcast referenced above, Hill admitted he rushed to accept the UFC 300 title fight to move ahead of Ankalaev in the pecking order.
UFC 313 is expected to be fireworks. Hill has a big interest in the main event, and he’s picking a new title reign to begin this weekend.