Glover Teixeira reacts to Israel Adesanya advising Jamahal Hill ahead of Alex Pereira UFC 300 showdown
Glover Teixeira has reacted to Alex Pereira’s former rival, Israel Adesanya, working with Jamahal Hill ahead of UFC 300.
Hill and Pereira will headline UFC 300 this Saturday in Las Vegas. Pereira will make his first light heavyweight title defense against Hill, who returns after vacating the belt in 2023.
Ahead of fight night, Hill recently admitted that Adesanya offered counsel on how to deal with Pereira inside the cage. While Hill didn’t go into specifics on what was discussed, he hinted that Adesanya answered his questions about Pereira’s approach.
Teixeira, who has been Pereira’s coach throughout his MMA career, feels Adesanya won’t make as big an impact on Hill as most believe.
Glover Teixeira downplays Israel Adesanya’s role in Jamahal Hill’s prep
During a recent interview with CBS Sports‘ Shakiel Mahjouri, Teixeira weighed in on Adesanya advising Hill.
“If you think about the fight, Izzy beat Alex that one night, but how many times is that going to go to his side?” Teixeira said. “I don’t see that happening [often]…he’s a great fighter and for sure, if he’s in anyone’s corner, he’s going to help…
“But, it’s just help. Because of the experience, but it’s not going to be anything magical…I always said Alex would be a champion with anyone helping him. Anyone with skills in martial arts would take Alex to the top, it’s the person he is, a champion.”
Pereira defeated Adesanya for the UFC middleweight title at UFC 281. Adesanya got his revenge just five months later, handing Pereira a wild knockout defeat.
Hill is looking to regain the UFC light heavyweight title after defeating Teixeira last year at UFC 283. He’s won four in a row, including knockouts of Thiago Santos and Johnny Walker.
Teixeira praises Adesanya’s fighting acumen but feels it won’t have an impact on whether or not Pereira successfully defends the light heavyweight belt at UFC 300.