Is fighting in the gym really worth risking potential harm?
Michael Bisping isn’t as down on Jamahal Hill following a run-in with Alex Pereira that involved a confrontation inside the UFC Performance Institute. Footage has surfaced of Hill and Pereira exchanging words. At one point, “Poatan” suggested they fight inside the cage right then and there. Hill declined to take Pereira up on his offer for a quick scrap.
While some fans have accused Hill of writing a check he couldn’t cash, Bisping sees things differently. Bisping spoke about Jamahal Hill having beef with several other names ahead of his UFC 311 fight against Jiri Prochazka. In fact, as far as those who’ve been throwing shade at Hill for not dueling Pereira in the Performance Institute, Bisping thinks it was a wise move by the former UFC light heavyweight champion. “Pereira threw the gloves at him and Jamahal was like, ‘What are you talking about? I’m not going to fight you here in the gym, I’m going to fight you and get paid for that,’” Bisping said. “Now, a lot of people’s opinions on social media is that Jamahal kind of bitched out, but I’ll be honest, I kind of agreed with his take. …
“Why would you want to fight in the gym when you can get paid a ridiculous amount of money to fight for real? Although, on the flip side, I see why people say that as well. I see why they formed the opinion in that he kind of wimped out a little bit because he did approach him, and Pereira threw the gloves. They are in the gym, they could’ve trained, they could’ve done a round or two, but it would’ve gotten carried away. It would’ve escalated out of control, and somebody might have ended up getting hurt.”
Hill and Pereira shared the Octagon last time in UFC 300 back in April 2024. Pereira scored the first-round knockout victory to retain his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.
“Sweet Dreams” has made it his mission to not only get a chance to avenge the loss to Pereira, but to become a two-time UFC light heavyweight champion.
Is this approach what sets Hill apart in this fight?