Former UFC champion Jamahal Hill shares an unusual interaction with upcoming rival Khalil Rountree Jr. - 'It's weird to me'
Jamahal Hill with The Schmo. Image via The Schmo/YouTube (screengrab)
Former light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill
Khalil Rountree Jr
Jamahal Hill details the weird interaction with Khalil Rountree Jr, tags Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria bout as the best possible matchup for IFW
Jamahal Hill Details 'Weird" Locker Room Encounter with Khalil Rountree, Alex Pereira Title Rematch
will face light heavyweight contender. in Azerbaijan on June 21, 2025. The fighters were supposed to face each other earlier at UFC Kansas City, which got replaced by the Ian Machado Garry vs. Carlos Prates bout. Both Hill and Rountree are looking for redemption following the previous losses faced by the fighters. In a recent interview, Hill deep dives into the relationship he shares with Rountree while talking about the possible main card event of the upcoming International Fight Week.Bitter and awkward conversations between fighters are quite common in the world of combat sports. And former UFC champion Jamahal Hill is not new to the experience. The fighter has had such interaction with other athletes like Alex Pereira ahead of Pereira's bout against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313. Hill's recent confrontation involves his upcoming opponent for UFC Azerbaijan, Khalil Rountree Jr. Both fighters are currently training for their upcoming bout in Las Vegas, specifically at the UFC Performance Institute , a place that facilitates innovation, research and training for the athletes and members of the MMA community.Hill, in his recent interview with the Schmo, shares an awkward incident that the fighter had to face while confronting his rival Rountree in the locker room.So I was in the UFC PI, walked into the locker room, and I'll say 'What's up' to anybody. And I walked into the locker room and he's like, 'Man, you really don't like me do you?'…and I was like what? And he was like 'You really don't like me, do you?'', The statement took Hill by surprise and he continued, 'I was like 'I don't even know you, we haven't even had a conversation'.It's almost like he's gotta build me up as this villain or this person that he hates, which is fine with me.'Hill further explained the possible repercussions of such an attitude, 'But whenever you start putting the energy off the UFC staff and sh*t like that like we can't be around each other, or something's going to happen, you're not going to do sh*t. So what's the point of that? It's weird to me.'When Hill was asked about what he is most prepared for in context of his rival, the fighter talked about the consistency that Rountree showcases within the Octagon, 'He is able to take damage and still have a game to throw and deal it out. So you got to be ready for that. He's got some fast twitches on some of his strikes into his game. So you got to be ready for that as well.'Towards the end of the 10-minute-long interview, Hill puts his opinion in on the possible main card event of the International Fight Week, 'I am hearing Islam and Topuria, but who knows man!' The fighter continued, 'If they want to make a lot of noise about it, I don't see too many other fights outside of that, you know.'Also read: 'I want to fight asap' - UFC Middleweight contender Bo Nickal opens up on future plans following the first loss of his pro-MMA career Both Hill and Rountree faced defeats in their previous matchups and are looking for a redemption towards the next title shot of the division. After losing the belt to Pereria, Hill lost another bout against Jiří Procházka and is aiming to bounce back and claim the light heavyweight championship belt.
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