UFC Vegas 16: Jamahal Hill is the fighter to watch
By Ivan Surlina
Undefeated Contender Series alum Jamahal Hill is the fighter to watch this weekend at UFC Vegas 16.
Light heavyweight Jamahal Hill will look to extend his undefeated record to a solid 8-0 this weekend when he takes on Ovince Saint Preux at UFC Vegas 16.
Saturday night’s main event is what most fans are looking forward to, but don’t sleep on this co-main event matchup between the up-and-comer in Hill and the savvy veteran in Saint Preux.
Hill (7-0, 1 NC) caught the UFC’s attention following a 5-0 start to his professional career, four of the five fights coming under the KnockOut Promotions banner. In just his fourth professional fight Hill defeated future UFC fighter Dequan Townsend despite Townsend having twenty-six pro appearances prior to that bout.
Hill then received the call to appear on season 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series back in 2019 where he proved he was a UFC caliber fighter. Hill defeated opponent Alexander Poppeck via second-round ground and pound. Hill’s winning ways continued into 2020 when he won his UFC debut via unanimous decision over Serbia’s Darko Stosic. Hill most recently fought and finished fellow light heavyweight Klidson Abreu in round one. Hill dropped Abreu with a nice knee in the clinch and followed up with strikes to end the bout early. However, while the contest was originally ruled a win for Hill, the bout was overturned to a no contest following a failed a post-fight drug test for marijuana.
How will Jamahal Hill fare at UFC Vegas 16?
Hill’s opponent, Saint Preux, will certainly be his toughest test to date by far. This is a giant step up in competition for a fighter who only has eight pro fights under his belt. Saint Preux has fought the likes of Jon Jones, Corey Anderson and Dominick Reyes. Saint Preux even contested for the interim UFC light heavyweight belt back in 2016. While just 2-3 in his last five, Saint Preux is never someone you’d want to overlook. He is coming off a first-round KO over Alonzo Menifield, a performance that earned him a $50k post-fight bonus.
Contrary to what many might think, Hill is actually the current betting favorite according to oddsmakers. Hill is listed as a -170 favorite at the moment while Saint Preux comes back at +140. Hill is being thrown into the spotlight here, but if he can grab a win over a ranked veteran like Saint preux, it opens the door to plenty of other matchups in the top-15 at 205 lb.
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