Alex Pereira opens as betting favorite to beat Jamahal Hill in UFC 300 title fight headliner
Brazilian phenom, Alex Pereira is slated to take main event honors at UFC 300 in April in his first attempted defense of the light heavyweight crown. And off the back of his confirmation as the flagship card’s headliner, the Sao Paulo native has opened as an early betting favorite to dispatch incoming foe, ex-champion, Jamahal Hill
Pereira, the current undisputed light heavyweight champion and a former undisputed middleweight titleholder under the promotion’s banner, won 205 pound gold back in November at Madison Square Garden.
Laying waste to ex-champion, Jiri Prochakza, Pereira won the title belt vacated by Hill, who suffered an achilles injury last summer, after winning himself vacant gold in a showdown against Pereira’s compatriot and close friend, Glover Teixeira.
Alex Pereira opens as favorite to beat Jamahal Hill
And confirmed as headlining UFC 300 in April, Pereira has opened as a -162 betting favorite to beat the aforementioned former champion, Hill, who is currently riding a +136 betting underdog line ahead of the April showdown.
With the monstrous UFC 300 card fast-approaching ahead of April, fans and punters alike can check out a bet365 review for events throughout the year so far – as event headliner, Alex Pereira already talks up the possibility of him headlining UFC 301 in his native Brazil – just weeks later.
Sidelined since January of last year, Hill was expected to defend his crown against Alex Pereira late last year, however, an impromptu pick-up basketball game with UFC alums and current fighters during International Fight Week last summer, saw the ex-champion suffer a ruptured achilles tendon.
And watching from fighter row at UFC 295 back in November as Pereira minted himself as the light heavyweight titleholder, Hill – who attended the Honda Center over the weekend in Anaheim to watch UFC 298, claimed he only found out officially of his fight with the Brazilian when he entered the venue.
“I found out for sure, for sure that it was locked in since I’ve been in here,” Jamahal Hill said during an interview at UFC 298. “When I got to the venue, we talked about it, and I agreed to it yesterday [Friday].”
“Look, ‘Sweet Dreams’ is not gonna lie to the people, I ain’t lie to you guys,” Jamahal Hill explained. “I told you what I knew – partially. …Everybody wants to be on [UFC] 300, but realistically, it didn’t really come on my radar, it didn’t really happen until yesterday, I’m not even going to lie, yesterday.”
Winning gold himself back in Janaury of last year in Rio de Janeiro, Hill became the first Dana White’s Contender Series alum to win gold with his decision win over former champion, Teixeira, in front of a hostile Brazilian crowd.
Who wins at UFC 300: Alex Pereira or Jamahal Hill?
