Chael Sonnen suggests Herb Dean’s interference could be to blame for Jamahal Hill’s loss at UFC 300
Is Herb Dean to blame for Jamahal Hill’s loss to Alex Pereira?
Chael Sonnen seems to think so.
Closing out a spectacular night of fights at UFC 300, ‘Poatan’ successfully defended his light heavyweight title in the evening’s landmark main event, putting ‘Sweet Dreams’ to sleep with a booming left uppercut just past the three-minute mark.
While pundits have been focusing on Pereira’s knockout blow and his viral post-fight celebration, the three-time UFC title challenger noticed something nobody else has pointed out.
“I kept watching it and I finally saw something that I had never looked for,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “I watched Herb Dean, then I looked back and I watched Alex, but what I never looked for is what Jamahal did. Have you? Because Pereira holds and hand up and even says something to Herb. ‘Stay back, I’m good.’
“That was great communication. Herb was going to break the action to check on him. Everybody is doing what they’re supposed to be, but Jamahal stops. Not 100%. I’m not saying he put it in park and got out, but he stops. He stopped doing what he was doing and started doing something else.”
“You’ve never seen a referee step in and a fighter tell him to get back,” Sonnen continued. “If the ref comes in after you know you just kicked the guy low, you’re going to have a break in the action. So, Jamahal begins that break in the action, when Herb gets notified and makes the decision that he’s going to get out of [the way]. …As [Jamahal] turns his head, Alex took the angle. This has never been spoke of.”
Jamahal Hills calls for a fight with jiri prochazka
Issuing his first statement following the loss, Jamahal Hill offered no excuses for the loss.
“Oh well, that’s the game we play,” Hill said in a video on social media. “Got caught. For anybody that cares, I’m good. I’m well.”
Looking to jump right back into the fire, ‘Sweet Dreams’ called for a clash with former 205-pound champ Jiri Prochazka.
“I dared to be great against adversity and against a great challenge and came up short at the highest level in the world!!!” Hill later wrote on X. “I answered the call twice on short notice to fight for a championship that most will never fight for!!! On to the next, [Jiří Procházka let’s] make it happen!!”
Competing in the featured prelim of UFC 300, Prochazka put away Aleksandar Rakic emphatically, re-establishing himself as one of the light heavyweight division’s top contenders.
Check out Chael Sonnen’s full breakdown of Pereira vs. Hill below:
