Jamahal Hill’s early return from injury at UFC 300 could prove disastrous: ‘He tore his Achilles clean off’
Jamahal Hill will return to the Octagon on April 13 to headline UFC 300, challenging the promotion’s reigning and defending light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira. It will be Hill’s first fight back since suffering a ruptured Achilles during a charity basketball game in July.
Yes, you read that right. July…
‘Sweet Dreams’ is looking to reclaim the crown he never lost a mere nine months removed from one of the worst lower limb injuries you can sustain in sports. The announcement quickly prompted pundits to accuse the UFC of rushing Hill’s comeback in a desperate attempt to deliver a viable main event for its star-studded event in Las Vegas.
Tim Welch, the head coach of current UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley, is currently rehabbing the same injury that Hill suffered and offered his take on the recovery process via his YouTube channel.
“Jamahal Hill, he tore his Achilles clean off, just like I did, last July, which is nine months ago,” Welch said. “My surgeon told me I’m not gonna be close to 100 percent until 12 months. He’s at nine months! My surgeon said, ‘You’re not gonna be able to run for a full year.’ They say these Achilles tears are worse than ACL (tears).”
Tim Welch questions the quality of jamahal hill’s fight camp ahead of UFC 300
The announcement of Pereira vs. Hill was met with little fanfare prompting ‘Sweet Dream’ to come to the promotion’s defense following the immediate backlash. ‘Sweet Dreams’ also attempted to quell any concerns about his injury, suggesting that his recovery was ahead of schedule and would be a non-issue come fight night.
“I’m really curious with Jamahal Hill, how much rehab and how well he rehabbed this Achilles,” Welch added. “For me, I was able to do everything under the sun. I was able to do stem cells, all the peptides, I ate the best possible (way), a carnivore diet… didn’t get real fat while I was healing this injury. I’m only about 19 weeks out from my surgery and this puppy is still tight… He’s a couple months farther along than me, but I’m really curious, how well did he rehab this puppy? How long ago did he start this fight camp?”
Meanwhile, Alex Periera has suggested that if he makes it out of UFC 300 relatively unscathed, he has every intention of headlining the promotion’s return to Rio de Janeiro three weeks later, taking advantage of an opportunity to compete in front of his home country.
