Jamahal Hill doesn’t agree with some of the things that his next opponent has been saying ahead of June 21.
On Saturday night, the former light heavyweight champion returns to face Khalil Rountree Jr in the main event of UFC Baku.
A big talking point ahead of their first meeting inside the Octagon has been about the shared opponents that they have, with Paul Craig favoring Rountree Jr in his prediction.
Both men were beaten by Alex Pereira last year when challenging for the light heavyweight belt, with a win getting either of them back into the title picture.
Pereira gave his take on Hill vs Rountree Jr but ‘Sweet Dreams’ isn’t paying much attention to what people have had to say about this pivotal next outing.
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Jamahal Hill slams ‘delusional’ Khalil Rountree Jr over Alex Pereira comparisons
During his fight week interview ahead of UFC Baku, Jamahal Hill responded to some recent comments from Khalil Rountree Jr.
Hill was told that his opponent doesn’t expect to emerge from this fight with too much blood on his face, unlike in his UFC 307 war with Alex Pereira.
‘Sweet Dreams’ disputed this before going on to talk about some of the other things that Rountree Jr has said which he takes issue with.
For a start, Hill is tired of his fellow contender speaking about their fights with Pereira and how he was able to last into the championship rounds with ‘Poatan’ before he was stopped.
The former champion also claimed that Rountree Jr is a “weirdo” for making up a “fake beef” to try and motivate himself ahead of June 21.
“This guy gets hit more than he hits anybody. That’s literally a stat of his whole career, like that’s a wild statement but you know, he’s said a lot of delusional things. He’s hanging his hat on the fact of, ‘Oh, I lasted longer than he did against Pereira’. We have other common opponents, one that I knocked out, one that knocked him out.
“It is what it is. Whatever he has to do to sleep at night. Whatever he has to do to get himself up to fight and get himself in there, I’m good with it. He’s already made up a fake beef with himself so he’s a f—— weirdo.”
Do the stats support Jamahal Hill’s claim that Khalil Rountree Jr gets hit more than he hits his opponents?
Jamahal Hill claimed in his media day interview, in response to Khalil Rountree Jr’s comments ahead of the fight, that his next opponent gets hit more than he hits his opponents.
While this is certainly the case in his latest outing against Alex Pereira, where the challenger started strong before he gradually got overwhelmed by ‘Poatan’, the stats don’t support this.
These are the significant strike counts for his win streak that led to his epic encounter with Pereira last October, including the title fight itself.
| Opponent | Significant Strikes For Opponent | Significant Strikes For Rountree Jr | Result |
| Alex Pereira | 127 | 61 | TKO Loss |
| Anthony Smith | 47 | 53 | KO Win |
| Chris Daukaus | 8 | 16 | KO Win |
| Dustin Jacoby | 120 | 85 | Split Decision Win |
| Karl Roberson | 17 | 26 | KO Win |
| Modestas Bukauskas | 23 | 38 | KO Win |
Both men tend to do a lot of damage whenever they land on opponents so the strike count may not end up being a factor if either Hill or Rountree Jr are able to connect with something big.