Glover Teixeira and Jamahal Hill face off in a battle for the vacant light heavyweight title in Saturday night’s main event.
Teixeira was originally scheduled to face Jiri Prochazka in a championship rematch at UFC 282 last month in Las Vegas, but the Czech champion suffered a serious shoulder injury and vacated the title. He declined a last-minute pairing with Magomed Ankalaev and looked on as the Russian standout fought former titleholder Jan Blachowicz to a draw, leaving the title still up for grabs.
That evening, UFC President Dana White announced Teixeira would face Hill for the vacant belt here, giving the 43-year-old Brazilian the opportunity to close out the show by becoming a two-time UFC champion.
In order to do so, he’ll need to get through Hill, who enters on a three-fight winning streak and brandishing an 11-1 record with one no contest overall.
“Sweet Dreams” has responded from his lone career loss by collecting consecutive stoppage wins over Jimmy Crute, Johnny Walker, and Thiago Santos, and was viewed as a potential title challenger prior to this fight coming together. Now, the Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) grad and proud Michigan native gets the chance to compete for gold and leave Brazil as a UFC champion.
Where this fight takes place could determine how it plays out. Both have fight-ending power on the feet and a willingness to trade, but Teixeira has shown a greater level of comfort and skill on the canvas than Hill, and may find an advantage should the fight get there.
