UFC 300: Pereira knocks out Hill in first round to retain title

Alex Pereira has proven himself as the true king of the light heavyweight division after finishing making light work of Jamahal Hill, delivering a series of punches to end the fight barely three minutes into the first round. With the win, Pereira gets to remain the light heavyweight champion and this is his first successful title defence, after failing to achieve the same in the middleweight division last year. 

The match ended almost as quickly as it started, and Pereira emerged unscathed. Having a tough opponent like Hill was not enough to faze the Brazilian, as he maintained his composure throughout and showed that he meant business. 

The two fighters maintained some distance between each other, not wanting to do too much as the fight only just started. Hill kicked Pereira around the belly, which was taken without a fuss, as Pereira even stopped the referee that was trying to get in the way after that. Then, into the third minute, Pereria sent a left flying that brought Hill to the ground immediately. He followed it up with a series of punches, and the referee quickly stepped in to bring the fight to an end just 14 seconds into the round.  

The win was Pereira’s second knockout victory and his second-fastest win. But he is far from done. Speaking after the match, the Brazilian talked about possibly competing at UFC 301 next month, although that seemed unlikely. He also said he wants to keep on defending his title for as long as possible: “I want to continue defending this belt. I talked a lot about fighting in Brazil if I won this fight. I won this fight; I’m not hurt; nothing happened. I want to have a fight at heavyweight.”

Still, on the same card, Max Holloway knocked out Justin Gaethje with one minute remaining on the clock, a real close shave that won him the UFC BMF title. He is now tied in the record for the latest finish in UFC history. 

Charles Oliveira took a loss by split decision with the win going to Arman Tsarukyan. After the match, the 34-year-old expressed regret at not knocking out Tsarukvan.

Leon Osamor