Jamahal Hill set to face former champ in light heavyweight return at UFC 311
11/23/2024 01:58 PM
Jamahal Hill will face a fresh challenge in his upcoming return at UFC 311 in Los Angeles.
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill has his next Octagon assignment almost a full year after a knockout loss to Alex Pereira.
Hill was originally supposed to co-headline UFC 303 against Khalil Rountree Jr., before withdrawing due to an injury. His recovery lasted the rest of 2024, capping off a frustrating year for the former titleholder.
But, Hill has a chance to bounce back and get back in the title mix, as announced on the UFC Macau broadcast on Saturday. Hill will face Jiří Procházka at UFC 311 on January 18th at the Intuit Dome, the new home of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers.
Immediately after the fight announcement, Procházka broke his social media silence ahead of UFC 311.
“Its a Fight, Its a joy to be alive and create the Best ourselves,” Procházka posted on Instagram. “Lets get it !!!”
As of this writing, Hill hasn’t posted anything on social media hinting at the UFC 311 booking.
Jamahal Hill vs. Jiri Procházka booked for UFC 311 showdown
Hill and Procházka are two of Pereira’s most recent title challengers with Hill falling to the champion at UFC 300 in April by TKO. Procházka has lost twice to Pereira over the last year, including in a short-notice rematch booking at UFC 303 following Conor McGregor’s withdrawal from the card.
While this will be the first fight between Hill and Procházka in their careers, their trajectories have been linked in recent years. After Hill won Procházka’s vacated belt at UFC 283 over Glover Teixeira, he suffered an injury months later, leading to Procházka facing Pereira for the again-vacated title at UFC 295.
Before the loss to Pereira at UFC 300, Hill was on a roll in the UFC light heavyweight division, earning recent TKO wins over Thiago Santos, Johnny Walker, and Jimmy Crute. He’s looking to avoid the first losing streak of his career and bounce back similar to his UFC 263 loss to Paul Craig.
Meanwhile, Procházka returns to the Octagon for the first time since UFC 303, a short-notice knockout loss to Pereira. Procházka regained some momentum in a come-from-behind win against Aleksandar Rakić at UFC 300.
Procházka captured the light heavyweight throne by defeating Teixeira by fifth-round submission at UFC 275. Before that, he earned brutal knockout wins over former title challengers Dominick Reyes and Volkan Oezdemir.
Jamahal Hill and Jiri Procházka will compete for potential No. 1 contender spot
Pereira is expected to face surging contender Magomed Ankalaev in his next light heavyweight title shot. He most recently defended the belt against Rountree at UFC 307, and weeks later, Ankalaev cemented himself as the consensus next title challenger by defeating Rakić at UFC 308.
Hill and Procházka have the opportunity to cement themselves as the next man up to potentially face the Pereira vs. Ankalaev winner. In recent months, Hill has taunted the light heavyweight champion, setting up what would be an intriguing rematch.
As of this writing, the UFC 311 main event hasn’t been announced by the promotion, although Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan 2 is the rumored favorite to headline.
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