Jamahal Hill ready to shake up ‘tired’ light heavyweight division: ‘These guys need naps’

With Rafael Dos Anjos and Rafael Fiziev moved from UFC Vegas 48 to UFC 272, Jamahal Hill and Johnny Walker saw their light heavyweight tilt elevated into the main event position. And boy oh boy did Jamahal Hill take advantage of the extra spotlight.

Not only did he let his personality shine through fight week, he then put the hammer down on Walker with a first round knockout (watch it here), earning himself a $50,000 performance bonus.

After the fight, he showed up to the post fight press conference with his son, both spiffed out in slick suits. It was a good look for a man who’s undoubtedly on his way into the top ten of the light heavyweight division. “Sweet Dreams” is a sleeper no more, and he’s pretty happy about that.

“I just look at it as motivation,” he said regarding the lack of attention he’s garnered in the division up to this point. “I don’t look at it as a chip [on my shoulder]. It don’t bother me one way or another, it just motivates me.”

As for the big knockout of Johnny Walker?

“I was just being patient,” he said. “He’s a long guy, he’s big. He’s been workin’, he had some nice setups, some little tricks while we were going. He felt strong, whenever he tried to take me down. I just stayed with it and flowed. I knew eventually I’d find my spot. Initially whenever it landed, I seen him kind of wobble. When I seen him wobble like that, I knew I had to get in and put another one on him and finish him.”

Asked how soon he’d like to return and against who, Hill sounded open to anything and everything.

“I don’t know, man,” he said. “I feel like the division is a little tired. Some guys need some naps, and ‘Sweet Dreams’ is here to provide them.”

If he was given carte blanche to pick anyone to fight next, though, he’d pick Jiri Prochazka. And not, Jamahal insists, because he’s next up for a light heavyweight tile shot. But because Jiri is one of the few 205ers fighting the way Hill wants to fight.

“Everybody else is tied up and then the way that they fight … the reason I want Jiri so bad is I feel like that’s a fight that, from both ends, it would be a banger,” Hill said. “It would be a banger. I think it would be promoted well. Not too many other people have that star ability. I feel like I talk well, I feel like I dress well, I feel like I fight well. I feel like I’ve got that swag. And I feel like he was one of those guys.”