UFC News & FeaturesOpinion: Jamahal Hill Giving Off Johny Hendricks Vibes
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The Ultimate Fighting Championship will make its debut in Azerbaijan this Saturday with an event headlined by a light heavyweight clash pitting former titleholder Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree—the final victim of Alex Pereira’s vaunted reign at 205 pounds. Neither man will be launched back into title conversations with a win, but the loser will face a highly unlikely road back into contention. Given that many didn’t believe Rountree was deserving of the title shot he received in October, it wouldn’t necessarily be a surprising fate for him, even with his spirited effort in that contest. For Hill, who fought in the UFC 300 headliner just a year ago, it would be a shocking fall from grace.
Predicting Hill’s downfall might be premature. After all, Hill’s
losses have come to Pereira and Jiri
Prochazka, and the fight with Rountree has yet to take place.
Regardless, Hill enters the contest as the underdog, as his
performances in those losses haven’t inspired much confidence that
the version of himself that managed to demolish Glover
Teixeira with ease still exists.
Breaking down how Hill found himself in his present condition is on the complicated end of things. Hill got a late start in the sport, as he did not make his MMA debut until the age of 26. That may not be on par with Randy Couture’s debut at 33, but it’s a different era. Nevertheless, he was still figuring things out when he touched down in the UFC in January 2020. Given that he wasn’t anywhere near his ceiling at that point, it wasn’t difficult to see where his improvement came at a rapid pace, allowing him to captur the UFC light heavyweight title just three years later at the age of 31. It felt like Hill would be a fixture at the top of the division for a long time.
Things got worse when Hill was arrested for aggravated domestic violence in November 2023, allegedly assaulting his brother during a family event. Not only were there questions surrounding Hill’s commitment to his rehab, but now there were questions about his personal life. After his rapid rise, it looked like Hill wasn’t able to handle the heat that comes from climbing that close to the sun.
Despite the prevalent questions, Hill managed to secure the coveted main event at UFC 300 upon his return, as he challenged Pereira. While Hill didn’t look like Frank Mir returning from his motorcycle accident, he certainly wasn’t at his peak, losing via knockout in the first round, all while looking softer in the midsection than he had previously. Many gave Hill a pass, as his return was quicker than expected. Unfortunately, Hill looked just as soft in his sophomore effort from the injury, proving sluggish in his contest with Prochazka in January. Hill had some moments and showed plenty of grit, but the consensus was that the lack of preparation before the contest made the likelihood of losing far greater than it would have been if the man viewers were familiar with before his injury had appeared.
Thus, while the injury isn’t something that would be fair to pin on Hill, most would agree he doesn’t seem to be putting in the work needed to be at his best. It’s almost as if he has forgotten the fire required to get to the top. The mindset isn’t necessarily surprising. Once someone has achieved a major goal, the belief that because they’ve achieved it once means they can achieve it again tends to set in. It’s why it’s so difficult for sports teams to repeat as champions. Hill appears to have that mindset, as his dismissals of criticism don’t reflect someone who’s studying himself to see where he went wrong. Those criticizing him? Well, they’ve never won the title. He has, so he knows better than anyone else.
It isn’t unlike the downfall of a previous champion with a similar rise to prominence. Johny Hendricks was a bit younger when he made his MMA debut at 24, but that’s still older than most. The former collegiate wrestler debuted in the UFC less than two years later, blazing a path to the top of the division with minimal resistance, suffering only a single loss on the way to challenging for the title, much like Hill. Once Hendricks claimed the title—less than seven years after his professional debut—he had a major surgery that shelved him for a considerable period of time. Once ready to defend his belt, he came back looking softer around the middle. That reflected in Hendricks’ return, as he showed a shallower gas tank than he had before. As Hendricks looked to get himself back into the title picture, he infamously could be seen eating a steak at his steakhouse in the days leading into his contest with Tyron Woodley. Hendricks missed weight and was never seriously in the picture again. Weight issues and questions about his commitment to the sport dogged him until he completely left the scene in 2018.
While Hendricks’ decline wasn’t immediately apparent at the beginning, it didn’t take long to see what was coming. For Hill, the signs were far more obvious, as his injury was more serious and the infractions were more public. Given his natural talents, this shouldn’t be the beginning of the end for Hill. After two downer performances since losing his belt, Hill should have enough warning to pull out of a tailspin. Thus, his contest with Rountree feels very much like a do-or-die proposition. Two years ago, it seemed more likely we’d be talking about Hill being one of the all-time great light heavyweights than being a flash in the pan. Given that many believe Hendricks dethroned Georges St. Pierre, it looked like he could have been an all-time great. For Hill’s sake, I hope that’s where the similarities end.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship will make its debut in Azerbaijan this Saturday with an event headlined by a light heavyweight clash pitting former titleholder Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree—the final victim of Alex Pereira’s vaunted reign at 205 pounds. Neither man will be launched back into title conversations with a win, but the loser will face a highly unlikely road back into contention. Given that many didn’t believe Rountree was deserving of the title shot he received in October, it wouldn’t necessarily be a surprising fate for him, even with his spirited effort in that contest. For Hill, who fought in the UFC 300 headliner just a year ago, it would be a shocking fall from grace.
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Breaking down how Hill found himself in his present condition is on the complicated end of things. Hill got a late start in the sport, as he did not make his MMA debut until the age of 26. That may not be on par with Randy Couture’s debut at 33, but it’s a different era. Nevertheless, he was still figuring things out when he touched down in the UFC in January 2020. Given that he wasn’t anywhere near his ceiling at that point, it wasn’t difficult to see where his improvement came at a rapid pace, allowing him to captur the UFC light heavyweight title just three years later at the age of 31. It felt like Hill would be a fixture at the top of the division for a long time.
That was the peak for Hill. Given that the UFC was looking for him
to defend against Prochazka, Hill was waiting for the former
champion to rehab his shoulder injury. It had forced Prochazka’s
vacation from the title a few months before Hill rose to power.
Thus, Hill wasn’t scheduled for a defense within the first six
months of his reign, focusing instead on promotional activities.
During a pickup basketball game at a UFC event for International
Fight Week in July 2023, Hill ruptured his Achilles tendon, forcing
him to also vacate the title. Given the difficulties of movement
with that injury, Hill ballooned up in weight during rehab, with
most estimating he was walking around at about 250 pounds—much
heavier than his previous walking-around weight. While it isn’t
much of a surprise he would put on some weight following that type
of injury, it seemed to be excessive, leading many to question
Hill’s commitment to his rehabilitation.
Things got worse when Hill was arrested for aggravated domestic violence in November 2023, allegedly assaulting his brother during a family event. Not only were there questions surrounding Hill’s commitment to his rehab, but now there were questions about his personal life. After his rapid rise, it looked like Hill wasn’t able to handle the heat that comes from climbing that close to the sun.
Despite the prevalent questions, Hill managed to secure the coveted main event at UFC 300 upon his return, as he challenged Pereira. While Hill didn’t look like Frank Mir returning from his motorcycle accident, he certainly wasn’t at his peak, losing via knockout in the first round, all while looking softer in the midsection than he had previously. Many gave Hill a pass, as his return was quicker than expected. Unfortunately, Hill looked just as soft in his sophomore effort from the injury, proving sluggish in his contest with Prochazka in January. Hill had some moments and showed plenty of grit, but the consensus was that the lack of preparation before the contest made the likelihood of losing far greater than it would have been if the man viewers were familiar with before his injury had appeared.
Thus, while the injury isn’t something that would be fair to pin on Hill, most would agree he doesn’t seem to be putting in the work needed to be at his best. It’s almost as if he has forgotten the fire required to get to the top. The mindset isn’t necessarily surprising. Once someone has achieved a major goal, the belief that because they’ve achieved it once means they can achieve it again tends to set in. It’s why it’s so difficult for sports teams to repeat as champions. Hill appears to have that mindset, as his dismissals of criticism don’t reflect someone who’s studying himself to see where he went wrong. Those criticizing him? Well, they’ve never won the title. He has, so he knows better than anyone else.
It isn’t unlike the downfall of a previous champion with a similar rise to prominence. Johny Hendricks was a bit younger when he made his MMA debut at 24, but that’s still older than most. The former collegiate wrestler debuted in the UFC less than two years later, blazing a path to the top of the division with minimal resistance, suffering only a single loss on the way to challenging for the title, much like Hill. Once Hendricks claimed the title—less than seven years after his professional debut—he had a major surgery that shelved him for a considerable period of time. Once ready to defend his belt, he came back looking softer around the middle. That reflected in Hendricks’ return, as he showed a shallower gas tank than he had before. As Hendricks looked to get himself back into the title picture, he infamously could be seen eating a steak at his steakhouse in the days leading into his contest with Tyron Woodley. Hendricks missed weight and was never seriously in the picture again. Weight issues and questions about his commitment to the sport dogged him until he completely left the scene in 2018.
While Hendricks’ decline wasn’t immediately apparent at the beginning, it didn’t take long to see what was coming. For Hill, the signs were far more obvious, as his injury was more serious and the infractions were more public. Given his natural talents, this shouldn’t be the beginning of the end for Hill. After two downer performances since losing his belt, Hill should have enough warning to pull out of a tailspin. Thus, his contest with Rountree feels very much like a do-or-die proposition. Two years ago, it seemed more likely we’d be talking about Hill being one of the all-time great light heavyweights than being a flash in the pan. Given that many believe Hendricks dethroned Georges St. Pierre, it looked like he could have been an all-time great. For Hill’s sake, I hope that’s where the similarities end.
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