Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill was not supposed to happen at UFC 300, discloses 'Poatan'

Alex Pereira is set to defend his light heavyweight title for the first time when he faces Jamahal Hill in the main event of UFC 300. 'Poatan' recently revealed that their bout was originally set for UFC 301.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, with his coach, Plinio Cruz, serving as a translator, the light heavyweight champion stated:

"The original verbal agreement, not signed, was to fight at 301 in Brazil, main event, Jamahal Hill. A few days ago they called and his manager called us and said that they were asking for him to headline UFC 300. He liked the idea. I think it's perfect timing for him to be prepared for it so he just jumped in... When they booked him for Brazil, he said, 'No, I want to fight at UFC 300.' Right after he fought [at UFC 295], a little bit after. He said, 'I want to fight at UFC 300.'"

He continued:

"They said, 'No, the agreement is to fight at 301, it's done.' 'Ok, no problem, but I feel that somehow I'm going to be on this card.' Fast forward a few months, he will fight at UFC 300. When they made the poster for him to fight at Madison Square Garden, it was still Jon Jones. Remember, he was co-main event. His photo was not on the poster. He said, 'My photo's not on the poster, but I feel like, somehow, my photo's going to be on the poster eventually.' Boom, main event."

Check out Alex Pereira's comments on fighting at UFC 300 below:

While Pereira will fight at UFC 300, he has also expressed an interest in fighting at UFC 301. It remains to be seen if the light heavyweight champion can retain his title and remain healthy enough for such a quick turnaround.

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Alex Pereira open to training with Israel Adesanya

While Alex Pereira will face Jamahal Hill at UFC 300, there were rumors that he could face long-time rival Israel Adesanya in a trilogy bout.

With the bout failing to materialize and the two fighters unlikely to share the octagon again, 'Poatan' revealed that he is open to training with 'The Last Stylebender' during a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, stating, via Plinio Cruz:

"He thinks [the rivalry is] over. Even to the point that he thinks that they could both even train together if it comes down to that because he feels that if that ever happens, Israel is a very experienced guy, Alex is a very experienced guy, similar styles of high level striking, different aspects of the game that one could add to the other. If it comes down to that fight we'll be good, but that is not something he is holding onto no more."

Check out Alex Pereira's comments on training with Israel Adesanya below:

Pereira noted that he is open to training with his long-time rival in the near future. He did, however, share that he would only do so if it were assured the two would never clash in the octagon again.