MMAOB staff writer Adam Martin takes a deeper look at the main event of UFC 283, a five-round vacant UFC light heavyweight title bout between Jamahal Hill and Glover Teixeira. The event takes place on Saturday, January 21 at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Jamahal Hill (-125)
Hill (11-1, 1 NC) is one of the top contenders at 205lbs in the UFC. The 31-year-old American is in his third year in the UFC and so far he has a 5-1, 1 NC record with four of those wins coming by way of knockout. He has massive power on the feet and he has shown that throughout his UFC run. On top of that, he has really good conditioning and can fight hard until the later rounds. He has been anxiously anticipating his chance to win the UFC title, and now he’ll get his chance in Brazil.
Glover Teixeira (+105)
Teixeira (33-8) is the former UFC light heavyweight champion. The 43-year-old Brazilian has been in the UFC since 2012 and he has fought and beaten many of the best fighters in the weight class during his UFC career. He has one of the best submission games of all time in the weight class, and he also has big power on the feet. In his last fight, he fought an epic war against Jiri Prochazka. Although he lost via fifth-round submission, his stock did not drop. That being said, he is obviously getting up there in age, and at some point, it’s likely that we will start to see his durability wane.
Fight Breakdown: This should be a great fight for the UFC light heavyweight title between two of the best fighters in the world at 205lbs. Teixeira is a legend of the division, while Hill is an up-and-coming talent who has shown incredible skills during his short amount of time in the Octagon. Overall, this should be an awesome fight, and both fighters have a clear path to victory. That being said, I can’t pick Teixeira at 43 years old to beat someone in his prime like Hill who has been knocking out everyone in his path as of late. As long as Hill can keep this fight on the feet, he should have an advantage in the power department. I see him catching Teixeira on the chin and knocking him out in the early rounds in this one, winning the vacant UFC light heavyweight title in the process.
Prediction: Jamahal Hill wins via TKO
