The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Vegas 59 inside FC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday will feature a fight between light heavyweight contenders Jamahal Hill (10-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) and Thiago Santos (22-10 MMA, 14-9 UFC). In an attempt to move up the rankings, number 10 ranked Hill would have to defeat number 6 ranked Santos.
Hill has won all of his career stoppages via knockout. Hill lands 6.22 significant strikes per minute in UFC light heavyweight competition, ranking second only to Dustin Jacoby in divisional history (6.62).
Hill, a Dana White Contender Series graduate fought only two UFC bouts after defeating Alexander Poppeck in the DWCS, the first of which was against then-No. 15 Ovince Saint Preux at UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs Vettori.
Hill had previously been known primarily for his striking. “Sweet Dreams” has a diverse skill set and can put opponents away with heavy hands, knees, or elbows.
Hill called his defensive technique “Hammer Block”, after mimicking the movement of your arm when using a hammer. According to Hill, the block is especially useful against hooks because defending with just your forearms is rarely enough to successfully block the opponent’s hooks. The “Hammer Block” uses the bicep to protect the face while the forearm is wrapped around the head.
Santos’s record
On the other hand, Thiago Santos is a seasoned player who has lost four of his last five matches. He’d be excited to get back on the winning track.
Santos takes part in his seventh UFC main event. He has a 3-3 record in previous headliners. Since moving up to the light heavyweight division in September 2018, Santos has gone 4-4.
In UFC’s light heavyweight competition, Santos’ average fight time of 16:39 is the longest in divisional history. In his split-decision loss to Jon Jones at UFC 239 in July 2019, Santos became the first person to earn a winning scorecard over Jones.
Santos’ 11 UFC knockout victories rank fourth in company history, trailing only Derrick Lewis (13), Matt Brown (12), and Vitor Belfort (12). Santos’ eight knockout victories in UFC middleweight competition are tied for the most in divisional history with Anderson Silva.
Hill’s first loss
Hill has a near-perfect 10-1-1 professional MMA record, with only one loss and one no-contest. Hill was given a no-contest after landing a knee on a grounded opponent during his fight with Klidson Abreu.
The only MMA fighter to defeat Hill by TKO was Paul Craig, who won in round one in June 2021. Joe Rogan requested that the fight be stopped early after Hill suffered a nasty arm injury while Craig was delivering ground strikes.
Hill revealed in a recent interview that he went into Craig’s fight with no real game plan and a lot of arrogance, which cost him in the end.
“I’m staying within myself. Check myself, make sure I’m approaching the game, the fight the right way,” Hill told DC and RC on their official YouTube Channel. “The Paul Craig fight was just arrogance, man. I felt like I could go in there with one of the best dudes in the world and beat him with no true game plan or really how to do that. Just, ‘oh, I’m better.’
Hill has won back-to-back first-round knockouts since then, including a memorable victory over Johnny Walker with his vicious right hand.
Hill previously defeated Walker in the main event of UFC Vegas 48 with a heavy right hand that sent Walker crashing to the mat. Walker was knocked out cold just under three minutes into the fight by a follow-up punch.