Jamahal Hill was shocked by Glover Teixeira’s durability at UFC 283.
Hill was headlining the pay-per-view card against Teixeira for the UFC’s vacant light heavyweight title. Heading into the fight, Hill was a slight favorite, but the American dominated the scrap from start to finish as he was the faster, and better striker and pieced up Teixeira.
Although Hill got the decision win, he admits he was surprised by Teixeira’s durability as he thought he would’ve put the Brazilian away.
Jamahal Hill on Teixeira’s toughness
“It was an unspeakable honor,” Hill told MMA Junkie. “In Brazil, in his home country, to do that and just everything how it happened, it was just incredible, man. It was a moment. And that’s what the emotion was at the end. It was an incredible moment, you know. From just the hostility in the crowd to going in and performing how I wanted to perform, and just how tough the fight itself was with him never going away. Yeah, bro, it was just a mixture of all those things. He didn’t lay down. He didn’t give it to me easy. I had to go and truly earn this title.”
Despite not getting the finish win, Jamahal Hill says he is pleased with his performance. He also admits he is impressed with how well Glover Teixeira was able to wear the damage and keep marching forward in the fight.
“It was a tough fight,” Hill said. “It was a hell of an opponent, legendary, Hall of Famer. The dude’s toughness is understated. He’s not just tough, he was tough, and he was actively doing the right things to try to win the fight. He was still active. He was still throwing. He was still looking to get a dominant position. The entire time, he never once wore the pain of the fight.”
With the win, Jamahal Hill improved to 12-1 and one No Contest and is now on a four-fight winning streak. Prior to the title win over Teixeira, Hill had wins over Thiago Santos, Johnny Walker, and Jimmy Crute.