Jamahal Hills says Glover Teixeira is an OG.’ But believes it’s time for him to be champion

After a fight for the light heavyweight title against Jan Blachowicz, Magomed Ankalaev remained in the Octagon. UFC 282 At the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. He was stunned, angry, confused and upset by the score of the bout which left the title vacant.

The bout was a split draw, and Ankalaev thought there was little doubt he’d won. Joe Rogan was furious that he had lost the fight and Ankalaev looked around the cage, in shock. Jamahal Hill called his manager before Ankalaev even left the Octagon. It was good news for Hill, but not for Blachowicz or Ankalaev.

Hill was offered a bout by the UFC against Glover Teixeira, a former champion for the vacant title at UFC 283 held at Jeneusse Arena Rio de Janeiro. Hill said yes so quickly that Ankalaev, fully unaware of what was going on behind the scenes, hadn’t descended the Octagon steps to the floor.

On Saturday, Hill will have the chance of his life when he takes on Teixeira to win the belt that was left vacant. Jiri Prochazka injured his shoulder in November and surrendered it.

“I watched the fight and at first, I thought Magomed was going to get the nod,” Hill told Yahoo Sports. “When it ended in a draw, I was like, ‘Oh, me and [Anthony] Smith for the title?’ I was just joking around, but honestly, it was right after Magomed talked, he hadn’t even left the cage; he was leaving the cage and I got a call from my manager. They just had a boring fight and they wanted an exciting fight for the title; they knew where to call.”

Another twist was created by this. Hill had been training for a March 5 fight at UFC 285 with Smith, who that night was working on the analyst’s desk for ESPN. Smith was informed live by Smith that UFC offered Hill the title fight against Teixeira at UFC 283 on the air.

Hill, though, reached out to Smith to work with him given Smith had fought Teixeira and had an intimate understanding of Teixeira’s strengths and weaknesses. Hill said he’s all about improving and he had no hesitation and said it wasn’t awkward even though the two had been preparing to fight each other.

“I called him because he had knowledge that I wanted,” Hill said. “There was no need for me to feel weird about that.”

Smith, who is serving as the back-up and will weigh in on Friday, raved about Hill’s talent and his mentality. He stated that Hill and his team were open to him and that there was no awkwardness from his side.

Hill is a slight favorite at BetMGM — Hill is -135 and Teixeira is +115 — and Smith said that’s no shock despite Teixeira being a former champion and having vastly more experience.

“As far as the challenges Jamahal brings, he’s very tricky on his feet, man, he really is,” Smith said. “It’s probably less about the things he’s been taught and really about the things he’s adapted for his body style and what he’s been given naturally. He’s got crazy power and he’s deceivingly fast. He is very good at managing his range. He’s hard to hit. He’s got really good eyes. He’s hard to get to but it’s not because of his [ability to manage] His range is limited, but he can see everything.

“And he’s a really fast learner. If you’re going to be successful at all with him on the feet, it’s got to be right away because once he sees it for a second, he’s already got you figured out. He will do anything if you give him something once. He’s an athlete like that. I’d be showing him something, a technique, and five minutes later he’d be hitting it on a training partner.”

Hill has great respect for Teixeira and knows it’s not going to be an easy fight.

“I think he’s an OG, man,” Hill said.

By bringing in Smith — who will likely fight the winner of Saturday’s bout between Paul Craig and Johnny Walker in March if he’s not needed in the main event — Hill showed his respect for Teixeira. Smith is one of the sharpest minds in the sport and had the knowledge of Teixeira from an insider’s perspective.

As Hill has worked to ready himself, he’s done so with the understanding that even small mistakes could prove fatal against an opponent like Teixeira.

“He’s dangerous,” Hill said. “He’s got good hands. He’s got a really good ground game. He’s got good jiu jitsu. He’s got good wrestling. He’s formidable everywhere. He can make you mad and cause problems all over the place, which is why I love to challenge myself against him. He’s been at the top of the game for a while, but I just think it’s my time.”

The key to winning a title is being able to deal with the present. Champion fights are on a completely different level. The mental and physical pressure is higher.

Smith, though, said he doesn’t believe Hill will be swallowed by the moment.

“He has a different type of mentality to be honest with you,” Smith said of Hill. “And with all due respect, Jamahal doesn’t know what he doesn’t know. He doesn’t really pay attention too much to the outside noise. I’ve been hanging out with him for the last couple of days. We’ve been hanging out at the beach. We’ve been in the ocean and we’ve been sitting around just chopping it up.

“And he is just kind of in his own world. I’m not even sure he realizes the magnitude of this, if I’m being very honest. That’s because his team is very tight. They’re very close and they’re very much in their own bubble. They don’t really have a lot of outside distractions and a lot of other b.s. He’s just doing his own thing.” He’s just doing his own thing.”