Jamahal Hill is excited about the stylistic matchup against Khalil Rountree.
Hill (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) will look to rebound when he takes on Rountree (13-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) in a UFC Fight Night main event April 26 from T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.
Rountree’s stock grew immensely when he put up a valiant effort in his title fight against Alex Pereira at UFC 307. He won the first two rounds but was eventually overwhelmed and stopped in Round 4.
“What I like about the matchup is that he’s a popular name right now,” Hill said on the “On Paper With Anthony Smith” podcast. “So, a lot of people are big on him. He’s put on some exciting fights, and he’s an exciting fighter. He comes to bang, and I just think that my skillset and what I do very, very well, are things he’s not ready for.
“The things that I do well, I don’t think he does them, as well as I do. I think my game is really, really, really wide open in this fight. …He’s explosive, he hits hard, he comes forward, and he believes in his abilities to finish. I believe those are all things I’ll be able to turn against him.”
Since winning the UFC light heavyweight title, Hill faced a string of bad luck. He was forced to vacate his belt after tearing his Achilles in a celebrity basketball game, then was knocked out by Alex Pereira in his return at UFC 300 in April. In his most recent outing, he was finished by Jiri Prochazka via TKO at UFC 311.
While regaining the title is on his mind, Hill just wants to enjoy the process.
“In this last fight, even though it went the way that it went, I had fun,” Hill said. “I really had fun in this fight, and I enjoyed the fight. I had a blast. I felt blessed to be in my position in that fight. I just got to keep enjoying it, try not to lose that joy again.
“Because with the injury, then how the fight went against Alex, with how things got interrupted and things like that. Then the whole bullsh*t online and all of that other stuff, you kind of get away from the true beauty and enjoyment of the sport, and what we do. And, I don’t want to lose that again.”
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This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Jamahal Hill before UFC Kansas City headliner: Khalil Rountree comes to bang, but ‘he’s not ready’
