USA News Hub

Jon Anik will have the best seat in the house for the stacked UFC 300, which closes out with a fascinating light heavyweight title fight between champ Alex Pereira and Jamahal Hill.

Anik calls the action with Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. While there are many questions surrounding the headliner, according to Anik, the biggest one relates to the challenger, who is returning from a ruptured Achilles after just nine months.

“This main event is unbelievable,” Anik told MMA Fighting. “People don’t understand the extent to which Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira is already a superstar. Like, this man walks into a building and people turn heads like it’s f****** JFK. “There’s something about this guy, and the fact that at 9-2 as an MMA pro, he’s already a two-division UFC champion and future Hall of Famer is insane. So ‘Poatan’ certainly deserves to headline this card.

“Jamahal Hill, skill-wise, is criminally underappreciated. So for me, my only question mark with the main event is Jamahal Hill’s Achilles, which he intends to confirm to me — I’m sure at the fighter meeting that it’s 100 percent good to go, all systems go. So I think the main event is fantastic. I’m really excited for this fight card. … But dude, it’s just one main event after the next, man. I told you earlier, I’m getting nervous.”

Hill captured UFC gold when he defeated Glover Teixeira in the main event of UFC 283 in January 2023, but he relinquished the championship before he could defend it after suffering his injury in July. Pereira picked up the ball and ran with it, winning his second divisional world title at UFC 295 by stopping former champ Jiri Prochazka.

Pereira carries a quiet confidence into the bout, while Hill is approaching the matchup much like Ilia Topuria did when Topuria stopped Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 — changing his Instagram bio to UFC champ, carrying an incredible bit of swagger, and almost dismissing Pereira like he knows something the world doesn’t.

If he wins, Hill likely is recognized as the world’s best 205-pounder. If “Sweet Dreams” doesn’t get his hand raised, it could be a tough go for the one-time champion.

Anik understands why Hill is entering the fight in this manner, and it mostly stems from not getting the respect he deserves.

“Well, my former broadcast partner Brian Stann always says, ‘Self belief is just the most important thing when you’re trying to be pursuant of anything important,’ so I love Jamahal Hill’s self-belief,” Anik explained. “But what I really love, bro, is the athleticism. A little bit of that American arrogance, right? He believes this, and a lot of people like me, just MMA observers, if I’m a professional in the space, fine, but just the MMA fan in me really does feel like he’s underrated in terms of his application of that athleticism across all of the different mixed martial arts.

“He’s a willing grappler, outstandingly gifted striker, I do think he’s got a little bit of that death touch as well when it comes to punches. I just wonder about the the durability, and he certainly answered a lot of cardio questions in the Glover Teixeira fight. But he is dealing with a guy who, I think, draws rave reviews for being like the hardest worker in the room. I mean, Alex ‘Poatan’ has a distinct appetite and passion, seemingly, for acquiring MMA knowledge, and he’s been in the gym improving every step of the way, while I think Jamahal Hill has been doing a lot of work recovering.

“So, it’s a fascinating fight, and I think the betting line, as I mentioned earlier, speaks to just how close it could be, and how close it is on paper.”