Getty Dana White
UFC president Dana White was not happy with how the UFC 282 main event played out, and he revealed that Glover Teixeira and Jamahal Hill will fight for the vacant light heavyweight belt.
After Jiri Prochazka vacated the 205-pound championship a few weeks back due to a shoulder injury, ex-champ Jan Blachowicz and the surging Magomed Ankalaev competed for the strap. And after five rounds, the contest was ruled a split draw. Blachowicz found success earlier in the fight with low kicks; however, Ankalaev took the fight over in the fourth and fifth frames by controlling the Polish fighter on the canvas.
Because the fight was declared a draw, the belt remains vacant. And instead of pitting the two men together who compete for the strap on December 10, White said at the UFC 282 post-fight press conference that Teixeira and Hill would fight for it in Brazil at UFC 282 on January 21.
Teixeira was originally scheduled to fight Prochazka on Saturday night, but after “Denisa” was pulled from the card, the former light heavyweight king decided to take the night off instead of fighting Ankalaev on short notice. Teixeira lost the belt to Prochazka in a “Fight of the Year” candidate earlier this year.
Hill is currently ranked No. 7 at 205 pounds and he’s riding the momentum of a three-fight win streak.
White Shared His Disappointment With the UFC 282 Headliner
White was asked at the presser if he thought Blachowicz or Ankalaev had done enough to take home the belt. Well, the UFC president used the question to share his disappointment in the headliner, as well as to reveal the promotion’s plans for the division.
“I don’t even know,” White said. “I started to zone out after like f****** three rounds. I heard that Ankalaev is upset, and whatever. What do you want me to do? You got beat up the first two rounds and you took him to the ground … what are you going to do?”
“You do Glover versus Jamahal Hill in Brazil,” White continued. “For the vacant title.”
When asked if the fight was “done,” White responded: “Done.”
The UFC President Shared How Teixeira vs. Hill Came Together, Said Both Fighters Have Verbally Agreed
Later, the president explained how he and his fellow UFC executives reached the decision to slot in Teixeira and Hill into next month’s pay-per-view event.
“We got out of the Octagon, we were all bummed out, went to my green room in the back and then Hunter (Campbell) and Mick (Maynard) started talking,” White said. “Hunter had talked to somebody and Mick already had talked to somebody, and they’re like, ‘What about doing this in Brazil? We’ll turn it right around and do this thing in Brazil.’ Everybody started to cheer up a little bit, got a lot more fun back in the green room.”
The UFC president also confirmed that the fighters had verbally agreed, but no contracts had been signed. Teixeira attended UFC 282 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hall was not present for the event.