Latest news with #JamahalHill
USA Today
02-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Ex-UFC champ Jamahal Hill blames injuries, lack of discipline for recent career slump
Jamahal Hill has a hard look in the mirror amid his recent losing streak. Jamahal Hill's career has taken several hard hits in recent years, putting the former UFC champion on a three-fight losing streak, an unprecedented run for him. In his latest defeat, which came in June at UFC on ABC 8 in Azerbaijan, Hill (12-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) lost a one-sided unanimous decision against light heavyweight contender Khalil Rountree. Hill entered the bout with plenty of confidence, assuring fans and media that Rountree (14-6 MMA, 10-6 UFC) was not at his level of competition. "Sweet Dreams" still stands by those claims, but thinks he hasn't been up to his own level, causing the discrepancy between his comments and performance. "A lot was made of the thing I said before the fight, me saying the comments that Khalil is not on my level, and I said the same things about my last few fights," Hill said on his YouTube channel. "But to be honest, I haven't been on my level. I haven't been on my level for quite some time." Hill thinks his decline comes down to two factors – one he can't control and one he can. After winning the UFC light heavyweight title against Glover Teixeira in 2023, Hill was forced to relinquish his belt after rupturing his Achilles tendon in an MMA pickup basketball game, which left him out of action for several months. Hill thinks the injury has affected his fighting greatly, more than people can imagine. "I think people severely underestimate the injuries that I've dealt with and the challenges I've had to overcome with that," Hill said. "An Achilles tear to an athlete is a career-ender in a lot of cases and to many, many people. Then you compile that with the tears to the knees of trying to come back and force my way back. I've gone against a lot of advice that I was given by my team and people close to me." On top of suffering a serious injury out of his control, Hill also takes some responsibility for his career rut. He admitted to not training as hard as he should be in order to compete at a high level. It's a bad habit he developed early in his career, and one that he didn't feel he needed to address due to the success he was having. "I'm a natural talent," Hill said. "Things came naturally to me at a certain level. Before I could hang around outside of camp and do things the way I wanted to do them, and whenever I was in camp I was just able to work at a level that I feel put me in a very good position to go on and put on the performances that I put in earlier on in my career on my run to the title. ... It brings me back to a quote my coaches tole me a long time ago: 'Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.' My work and my output have to go up. I have to do more. I have to work harder and grind harder. I've entered my last three camps at the lowest, maybe 260 pounds. This last camp I was maybe at 265 pounds. That goes into that work."
USA Today
25-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, June 24: Khalil Rountree Jr. enters top 5
The UFC's first trip to Azerbaijan featured an important light heavyweight contest in the main event. Former title challenger Khalil Rountree Jr. stuck, moved, and chopped away at the legs of former champion Jamahal Hill en route to a clear unanimous decision victory. Coming into the event, Rountree Jr. was ranked No. 8 in the light heavyweight division, but after the big win, he moves inside the top 5 at No. 4. On the prelims, flyweight Tagir Ulanbekov picked up a win over Azat Maksum by unanimous decision. Ulanbekov's four-fight winning streak is strong enough to enter the top 10 of the 125-pound division. Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings.
USA Today
22-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Mick Maynard's Shoes: What's next for Khalil Rountree Jr. after UFC on ABC 8 win?
Khalil Rountree Jr. proved he's levelled up to an elite tier on Saturday when he thoroughly defeated former champion Jamahal Hill at UFC on ABC 8. Rountree Jr. (14-6 MMA, 10-6 UFC) rebounded from a title-fight loss to then-champ Alex Pereira in October by methodically breaking down Hill (12-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) over for the course of five rounds for a unanimous decision in the headliner at Baku Crystal Hall in Azerbaijan. Although he claimed his worth for a title shot post-fight, it might not be that easy for Rountree Jr. What's next? Watch the video above for thoughts and analysis after his UFC on ABC 8 win. Khalil Rountree Jr. wants a title shot after his UFC Baku win over Jamahal Hill, but is it realistic? We break it down.
USA Today
22-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
UFC on ABC 8 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Curtis Blaydes among $16,000 earners
BAKU – Fighters from Saturday's UFC on ABC 8 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $155,000. The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy. UFC on ABC 8 takes place Saturday at Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan. The main card airs on ABC following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+. The full UFC on ABC 8 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included: Khalil Rountree Jr.: $16,000 def. Jamahal Hill: $11,000 Rafael Fiziev: $11,000 def. Ignacio Bahamondes: $6,000 Curtis Blaydes: $16,000 def. Rizvan Kuniev: $4,000 Myktybek Orolbai: $4,500 def. Tofiq Musaev: $4,000 Nazim Sadykhov: $4,500 def. Nikolas Motta: $6,000 Muhammad Naimov: $6,000 vs. Bogdan Grad: $4,000 Seokhyeon Ko: $4,000 def. Oban Elliott: $4,500 JunYong Park: $11,000 def. Ismail Naurdiev: $6,000 Daria Zhelezniakova: $4,000 def. Melissa Mullins: $4,500 Klaudia Sygula: $4,000 def. Irina Alekseeva: $4,000 Tagir Ulanbekov: $6,000 def. Azat Maksum: $4,000 Mohammed Usman: $6,000 def. Hamdy Abdelwahab: $4,000 Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program's payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum's multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $7,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $17,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000. In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-40 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials. Full 2025 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts: Year-to-date total: $3,378,000 2024 total: $8,280,500 2023 total: $8,188,000 2022 total: $8,351,500 2021 total: $6,167,500 Program-to-date total: $34,395,500 UFC on ABC 8 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC's deal with Venum. UFC on ABC 8 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay:
Yahoo
22-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
LIVE! Watch UFC Baku Post-Fight Presser Here
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC With UFC Baku officially done after a fun afternoon (Sat., June 21, 2025) of fights LIVE on ABC/ESPN+ from inside Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan, fight fans can now checkout the post-fight press conference video above for all the best reaction and official bonus winners. Advertisement On a night that featured a Light Heavyweight headliner between former division champion, Jamahal Hill, and 205-pound title challenger, Khalil Rountree (results here), as well as a co-main event clash between hometown hero, Rafael Fiziev, and Ignacio Bahamondes, there will be a lot to discuss now that the action has concluded. The post-fight presser is scheduled to go LIVE in the above video player around 7 p.m. ET. It will feature the biggest winners and losers from the card, as well as UFC CEO, Dana White. For more UFC Baku results, coverage and highlights click HERE. More from
