LAS VEGAS – Jamahal Hill needed just 48 seconds to prove once again he’s worthy of the hype that was starting to build around him prior to the first loss of his professional career.
After a rather high-profile loss to Paul Craig in June, Hill (9-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) rebounded in emphatic fashion at Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 31, dispatching of fellow light heavyweight prospect Jimmy Crute (12-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) in a rather violent manner.
Hill admitted it was an important result.
“I’m feeling really good,” Hill told MMA Junkie following the first-round knockout. “It’s good to be back in the win column, especially after what happened last fight, and to do it this way against a guy like Jimmy Crute – who is highly talented, will be here for a while – yeah, it’s good.”
Prior to the fight with Crute, Hill admitted he took several valuable lessons out of his first setback. The 30-year-old “Sweet Dreams” entered Saturday’s bout with a more mature mindset, though he certainly hadn’t dialed back any of his destructive tendencies.
“I actually told my coaches before – I was like, ‘I feel like this ain’t going to last long,’” Hill said. “Also, the right hook, I figured that that punch would be there, and I was able to clip him with it at first, which I don’t know. It was just kind of surprising to see him go down, and then I was like, ‘All right, just stick with it.’”
Hill did exactly that, and when the right hand landed again, it proved a decisive blow. But it was his patience in delivering the shot again that proved especially impressive.
“Any time I hurt somebody, I look at it like, ‘Oh, if I hurt you once, I can hurt you again,’” Hill said. “So I’m not going to put myself in a bad spot to try and finish it. Plus, I knew he wanted a grappling match, so I’m not going to turn it into that for him.”
The result moved Hill to 3-0 at the UFC Apex, including his win on Dana White’s Contender Series that earned him a UFC deal. That record would actually be 4-0 would it not be for a first-round TKO win there in 2020 that was later overturned to a no contest due to a positive test for marijuana metabolites.
Hill said he feels quite comfortable in the venue.
“Man, we’re in ‘Sweet Dreams’ Stadium,” Hill joked. “I’m going to be honest: Like just being out here, fighting in here, you know, it just feels routine now. I’m undefeated here, still, so I got that going for me, and it was just it just felt really routine.
“When a place speaks to you, you know, you just let it touch you.”
Hill was awarded an extra $50,000 for the result after earning one of four “Performance of the Night” awards, but perhaps more importantly, he again established himself as a name to watch at 205 pounds.
While he admitted it was a difficult buildup to the fight after suffering a number of personal tragedies in the months since his first professional defeat, Hill said he’s not interested in taking any added time off but wants to simply keep things rolling in his career.
“We’re full steam ahead,” Hill said. “We’re still going. It’s time to keep fighting. … I want to be active. I’m trying to be back in here, and that’s that’s the goal for next year. This is how I eat. This is how I feed my family, and we’re hungry.”
To see the full interview with Hill, check out the video above.
Still undefeated at ‘Sweet Dreams’ Stadium, Jamahal Hill full steam ahead in 2022
