The UFC light heavyweight title is on the line in Rio de Janeiro this Saturday. Competing for the strap are former champion Glover Teixeira and the surging Jamahal Hill.
Teixeira has been here before, he won the title from Jan Blachowicz at UFC 267 in 2021. It’s new territory for Hill, though, who has headlined just twice before and has never fought outside the US.
The BE staff mostly think Teixeira will get his hand raised on Saturday night, due to his experience and versatility. However, there’s plenty others who think that Hill’s creativity and finishing power might be enough to make him a UFC champion.
You can see our picks below. Don’t forget to add yours in the comments, too!
Glover Teixeira vs. Jamahal Hill
Anton Tabuena: Teixeira should be the more well rounded and more technical MMA fighter by far. I normally wouldn’t hesitate to pick a guy with all those advantages, but he is 43 and just went through a war with Prochazka. Hill is tough and hits hard, and with an aging fighter, sometimes that’s the only thing you need. I can see this going either way, and I’m honestly leaning towards Hill, but I would hate myself if I didn’t pick Glover and he won again. I’m rooting for the old guy to fend off father time just enough to win another belt. Glover Teixeira by TKO.
Zane Simon: In terms of technical class, Teixeira really is a cut above Hill. Even just purely as a striker, he’s a more varied, more nuanced, and more defensively responsible puncher. He’s also a lot slower. Against more wild fighters, Teixeira has made that work by being ready to pounce on every wild mistake and clinch entry. But Hill’s game is a pretty simple on of jabs, kicks and 1-2s. If he can stay at his range without falling into the clinch, he’ll likely be able to really light Teixeira up early and hurt him. If he doesn’t finish him there, then there’s a great chance Teixeira rallies and starts breaking him down for a late stoppage, but I’ll take Jamahal Hill via TKO, round 1.
Victor Rodriguez:
I feel like Glover should absolutely win by being more technical with his boxing and having a superb ground game. And yet I can’t shake the feeling that Hill can turn this fight around or end it with just a few touches. Not only can Glover be touched, he’s been touched before and slept hard. I’m not saying this as a knock or anything, it’s just what we’ve seen. But we’ve also seen his resurgence in being a much more tactical fighter with better defense than the guy that got dropped and almost put away by Karl Roberson and company. Because if that guy goes in there against Hill, he’s gonna get hurt bad. Gonna say that instead we get the guy that we saw against Big Jan and fought smart and remained crisp. And that guy uses layers to outhustle the young gunslinger. Glover Teixeira by TKO.
Staff picking Teixeira: Bissell, Lewis, Anton, Kristen, Stephie, Victor
Staff picking Hill: Eddie, Chris, Dayne, Zane
Poll
Who wins?
-
66%
Glover Teixeira
(483 votes)
-
33%
723 votes total
Vote Now
About the author: Tim Bissell is a writer, editor and deputy site manager for Bloody Elbow. He has covered combat sports since 2015. Tim covers news and events and has also written longform and investigative pieces. (full bio)
