Jamahal Hill is no stranger to pressure. He enters UFC Baku not only as a former light heavyweight champion but also as a fighter aiming to reassert dominance following a pair of difficult setbacks. With Khalil Rountree Jr. waiting across the cage this Saturday, ‘Sweet Dreams’ has made it clear at media day that his focus is on the now, not the noise created by the media.
So, when questions about his previous fights started circling him, with one journalist asking him if the losses would affect his upcoming fight, Hill didn’t back down—he shot back. “Every fight is different. It’s a new fight,” he said clearly.
“It’s a weird question. It’s kind of like a dorky online fan question. I don’t really get how that would affect how I’m fighting a completely different fighter. You know what I mean? I’m focused on what’s happening on Saturday and on the task at hand for that.” Hill believes that the obsession with the past not only misses the point—it misses the fighter entirely.
However, his journey has not been without incident. He’s coming off back-to-back losses—one to Alex Pereira at UFC 300, where a powerful left hook took him down in the first round, and another to Jiří Procházka in January, where a persistent third-round onslaught prompted the referee to step in.
These were not losses to scrubs, but to two of the division’s most devastating men. But ‘Sweet Dreams’ is not dragging those ghosts into the Octagon. He sees Khalil Rountree Jr. as a new puzzle, with new risks. And the risks are quite real.
‘The War Horse’ is a fighter with destructive power in his fists, a striker who doesn’t need five rounds to call it a night. But Jamahal Hill claims he’s finally healthy after addressing the issues that held him out earlier this year.
This fight, for him, isn’t about proving the past wrong; it’s about proving he’s still very much in the present. And this time, it seems like he also has fans by his side, because as soon as the clip from media day hit the internet, fans made sure to pick sides.
Fans side with Jamahal Hill for “dorky” question
Jamahal Hill’s response at the UFC Baku media day went viral online, and the fanbase quickly rallied behind him. Many people thought the question, which brought up his previous two knockout losses before a completely fresh bout, missed the point entirely.
“Terrible question, WTF,” commented one user, establishing the tone. Another remarked, “To be fair, it was a stupid question,” while a third said, “Rare Jamal win tbh.” One fan summed it up with blunt approval: “The one time I agree with Hill, because wtf was that .”
The outrage was sparked not only by the question but also by Hill’s response. A number of fans thought his displeasure was justified, even refreshing. “Response was justified tbh,” a user said, while another praised the honesty: “Actually a rare based answer from Hill.”
Credit: Imago
Some pointed out how ridiculous it would’ve been for Hill to give a vulnerable response on such a public stage: “What is he supposed to say? The losses affected me horribly, and I’m mentally shaken for this fight” Even Hill’s critics appeared to take a step back for this one.
However, not everyone found the question ridiculous. Some defended the journalist, citing the likelihood that English was not his native language. “I think what he’s trying to say is that you got knocked out in your last two fights, and how will it affect you mentally?” a commenter said.
Another fan added, “It’s a pretty simple question: do you think you will approach this fight differently considering you were finished in your last 2?” The crowd may have leaned in favor of Jamahal Hill this time, but there were enough voices to show it wasn’t all black and white. But what do you think? Let us know in the comments.
The post “Terrible” – Jamahal Hill Earns Unexpected Fan Backing as Journalist Left Embarrassed at UFC Baku appeared first on EssentiallySports.