UFC 300: Pereira vs. Hill Fight Card, Predictions, & Odds

The historic UFC 300 card will be headlined by the light heavyweight showdown between reigning champion Alex Pereira and No. 1-ranked contender Jamahal Hill on April 13 inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Pereira will be the betting favorite in UFC odds at -140, and Hill is the +115 betting underdog.

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It will be Pereira’s first UFC title defense since winning the championship in November. On the other hand, Hill is fresh off his recovery from an Achilles tendon injury he suffered in July of last year that forced him to relinquish the 205-pound belt to avoid holding up the division.

Both fighters are currently on their respective win streak, with Pereira riding a two-fight win streak and Hill winning four successive bouts.

Alex Pereira Recent Fight Results

Pereira was a kickboxing star before he joined the UFC in November 2021. He immediately scored three victories to earn the right to challenge Israel Adesanya for the UFC middleweight title. The Brazilian maximized the opportunity and scored a come-from-behind win over Adesanya to become the undisputed UFC middleweight champion.

However, Adesanya immediately reclaimed his championship by beating Pereira in their rematch with a second-round knockout. This prompted Pereira to move up to the light heavyweight division, where he scored two victories over Jan Blachowicz and Jiří Procházka to become the new king.

Jamahal Hill Recent Fight Results

Hill was an undefeated prospect when he joined the Dana White Contender Series in 2019. He cracked a spot in the promotion’s roster by beating Alexander Poppeck via second-round TKO. Since then, he has won five of his seven bouts under the Las Vegas-based promotion.

In January 2023, Hill was pitted against Glover Teixeira for the vacant UFC light heavyweight title, and he dominated the former champion en route to becoming the champion. Unfortunately, before he even had the chance to defend his championship, he sustained an injury that forced him to vacate it.

Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill: Tale of the Tape

Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill: Fight Analysis

The tale of the tape between Pereira and Hill is almost identical because they are the same height, 6-foot-4, and have the same reach of 79 inches. Pereira has a slight leg reach edge, with a half-inch edge at 44 inches against Hill’s 43.5 inches. Another difference is their age, as Hill is four years younger than Pereira.

Both are dynamic strikers with enormous power that could sleep anyone in the division. However, they take a different approach when engaging their opponents. Pereira uses more kicks to chop down his opponent’s leg through powerful calf kicks. Once he accumulates damage, his opposition loses its power and has trouble with his mobility.

Also, the Brazilian is more of a counterpuncher and waits for an opening by waiting for his opponent to overextend and make a mistake. This is the key to his victories over Procházka and Sean Strickland. Pereira has decent takedown defense, so stopping potential takedown attempts from Hill won’t be an issue during the fight.

Meanwhile, Hill is a volume fighter who likes to overwhelm and pressure his opponents by marching forward and displaying his elite boxing combination. In addition to his boxing, the American star has other weapons in the striking department, maximizing his kicks, knee, and elbow strikes.

Once he lands a powerful strike that gets his opposition in trouble, he immediately jumps on them to try and finish them with a flurry of more combinations. Like Pereira, Hill could defend takedowns decently and avoid danger in submission maneuvers. Due to their strike-heavy styles, expect this match to be a high-level fight on the feet.

The key for Pereira is to fight Hill on the outside and pick him apart with multiple leg kicks to take away his power and leverage his kicks when throwing them. This will give him the best shot of limiting Hill’s mobility and accumulating damage on the lead leg.

Meanwhile, Hill should pressure Pereira right from the opening bell to avoid his signature kicks to the calf and lessen its power when he throws it. Furthermore, Hill must close the distance to fire his boxing combinations and inflict damage against him. However, he needs to be cautious of the counterstrikes that Pereira is going to fire when they exchange inside the pocket.

Official Prediction: Unanimous decision victory for Jamahal Hill.