This weekend from Las Vegas the UFC will feature UFC 300. No other card in the history of the promotion has had the amount of star power on the card than ever before. The UFC will have 3 titles on the line Men’s Light Heavyweight, Women’s Strawweight and BMF title all being defended. We will also witness former champions like Jiří Procházka and Aljamin Sterling back into the octagon. Will Alex Pereira be able to defend his light Heavyweight Title against Jamahal Hill?
Alex Pereira to Defend Title Against Hill
Light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira will be defending his title against Jamahal Hill. Hill is a former champion who never lost his belt due to him vacating his title due to injury.
Alex Pereira used to fight as a middleweight before moving up after losing his title to Israel Adesanya. The Brazilian was able to clinch a split-decision victory on his light heavyweight debut against former Champ Jan Blachowicz. This victory allowed Pereira to fight for the vacant title against former champion Jiří Procházka. Pereira was then able to clinch the title with a second-round stoppage. Pereira was able to knock the former champ down with a right hook before getting the stoppage via elbows.
During his two years under the UFC Pereira has been able to clinch both the middleweight title and the light heavyweight title. He also currently holds a UFC record of 6-1 with his only defeat coming against Adesanaya. Pereira will be looking to defend his belt on Saturday and prove why he is one of a kind in the UFC.
Alex Pereira Skillset
Alex Pereira is one of the most technical and dangerous fighters who has stepped into the UFC octagon. This is shown as he has landed 62% of his significant strikes which is the 4th highest of all time. Not only is he accurate he also lands more than he receives. Alex Pereira lands 5 strikes per minute and only absorbs 3.65 strikes per minute. While Pereira prefers to stand in the Orthodox stance this is not where his best strike comes from. This is due to his best strike being his left hook. If he can land the left hook he can come up with the power to end the fight. Even though, the left hook is the best strike you are not able to sleep on his leg kicks either.
Alex can use leg kicks as an important part of his game and can land it with no tell to his opponent. This allows him to build up combinations and allows him to throw the left hook without his opponent noticing it. If Pereira can close down the distance then he will be able to get his shots together to end the fight.
Hill Volume Could Cause Trouble
Jamahal Hill was the first UFC Champion to come from Dana White’s Contenders Series. Hill has a great sense of timing and accuracy with his strikes, especially with his left straight which has fight ending power. While Hill has got a lot of power in his hands he is also able to damage his opponent with body and head kicks. Jamahal Hill can use this to his advantage to set up his attacks before blasting his opponents. Hill has a significant strike advantage over his last opponents by 3.72 strikes. Jamahal Hill lands 6.99 strikes per minute which is 2nd most among light heavyweights. Hill will have his hands full as Pereira does have a good defence but will the volume Hill produces be too much for Pereira to handle?
Prediction
I feel Alex Pereira will be able to get the victory in this title fight. I feel he will be able to use his defence to be able to take out Hill’s strength of his volume. Pereira will mix in his leg kicks which will be able to neutralise Hill’s body and leg kicks. We have also seen in the past how strong Pereira’s leg kicks were in his previous fights. I believe he will be able to use this to be able to get the left hook into action and be able to secure the knockout in the later rounds.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
