"I can go up there and f*** him up" - When Jamahal Hill was sure he would knock out Alex Pereira if 'Poatan' moved up to light heavyweight

In the past, Jamahal Hill was supremely confident in his ability to knock Alex Pereira unconscious. 'Sweet Dreams' was adamant that, should the two ever cross swords, he would emerge as a certain victor. This was echoed in early 2023, when Hill scoffed at Pereira's chances at light heavyweight.

Despite the Brazilian's previous success kickboxing at 205 pounds, 'Sweet Dreams' was more than certain that he would not only beat Pereira, but knock him out after watching 'Poatan' triumph over Israel Adesanya at UFC 281. He said as much in an interview with Middle Easy, which was shared on YouTube

"They tell me he might come up. Come on in, my boy. Whenever he decides. Oh yeah, I can go up there and f*** him up. Come on in, my boy, all that smoke. I was there, I watched live. All respect to Izzy, but I'll knock Pereira the f*** out."

Check out Jamahal Hill's thoughts on Alex Pereira (17:37):

Hill and Pereira had been on something of a collision course ever since the Brazilian committed to a move up to light heavyweight. 'Sweet Dreams' was the UFC light heavyweight champion and had handed a fairly lopsided beating to 'Poatan's' mentor, Glover Teixeira.

The writing was on the wall, and the promotion had a matchup already backed up by a compelling narrative. More than that, however, was Hill's continued insistence that Pereira was nowhere close to skilled enough to contend with him. It was a belief that held firm into the pair's recent UFC 300 bout.

---

Jamahal Hill's prediction about knocking out Alex Pereira turned out to be completely opposite

Despite his prior confidence, Jamahal Hill's bout with Alex Pereira at UFC 300 did not go according to plan. The former champion frequently needled at Pereira ahead of their bout, even taunting his foe into the octagon during the latter's walkout. However, when both clashed, it was Hill who was knocked unconscious.

After accidentally kicking Pereira in the groin, Hill apologized and 'Poatan' immediately halted referee Herb Dean's attempted intervention to grant him recovery time. As the two reset, Hill threw a straight left, but Pereira slipped on the inside of it, catching his foe mid-punch with a left hook.

Check out Alex Pereira knocking out Jamahal Hill:

Hill's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he crumbled to the mat. Without a moment wasted, Pereira pounced with ground-and-pound, quickly knocking Hill out cold.