Israel Adesanya predicts Jamahal Hill will knock out Alex Pereira at UFC 300

Israel Adesanya sees Jamahal Hill stopping light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira early at UFC 300.

Pereira (9-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC), a former middleweight champ, makes his first 205-pound title defense against Hill (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) in Saturday’s headliner (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Adesanya has fought Pereira four times – twice in kickboxing, and twice in MMA. Adesanya is a combined 1-3 in those fights, but he knocked out Pereira in their most recent outing at UFC 287 and thinks “Poatan” is hittable.

“This fight, Alex is going to try and kick Jamahal’s legs. I don’t think that’s a f*cking secret,” Adesanya said on his YouTube channel. “That’s his thing. Jamahal knows this. Jamahal, I don’t think is scared. Jamahal has got knockout power, scary knockout power, as well.

“Alex can get knocked out. Something Jamahal said, which I don’t know if it was overlooked or not, he said, ‘Who is someone Alex Pereira has just outclassed in a fight? Not just knocked out, but like outclassed in a fight until he knocks them out.’”

Adesanya has confidence in Hill’s power but warns him of Pereira’s inevitable leg kicks.

“Jamahal is just going to try and touch him at some point,” Adesanya said. “But avoiding the leg kicks is the tricky bit, and I know Jamahal has some remedies for that. … Five rounds, so it’s going to be a slow start. The first round, they’ll figure each other out, get some shots off.

“Alex is going to be throwing the leg kick, and Jamahal will be finding his jab and trying to get his fist to Alex’s head. Not just the chin, but his head somewhere because the one with Johnny Walker, that was on the dome. I’m going to go Jamahal by KO, first two-and-a-half (rounds).”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.