Dana White announces Jamahal Hill vs. Glover Teixeira for the vacant light heavyweight title at UFC 283

UFC President Dana White turned some heads with his post-UFC 282 announcement.

The conclusion of UFC 282 was supposed to crown a new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev did battle for the vacant gold this past Saturday night (December 10). The title had been vacated after Jiří Procházka suffered a shoulder injury.

Blachowicz vs. Ankalaev went the distance, and many felt Ankalaev had done enough to lay claim to the 205-pound gold. In the end, judge Michael Bell scored the fight 48-47 for Blachowicz, Derek Clearly had it 48-46 for Ankalaev, and Sal D’Amato scored it even at 47-47. This one was a split draw and no new champion was crowned.

During the UFC 282 post-fight press conference, Dana White announced that Glover Teixeira and Jamahal Hill will now do battle for the vacant UFC Light Heavyweight Championship at UFC 283 (h/t MMAJunkie).

“What are you gonna do? I think the main event was terrible,” White said. “I started to zone out after like f*cking 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, you started – what are you gonna do?”

UFC 283 will be held inside Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on January 21, 2023. The card will also feature the fourth bout between UFC Flyweight Champion Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno.

Coming off a memorable clash with Khamzat Chimaev, Gilbert Burns will return to face Neil Magny. Former UFC Strawweight Champion Jessica Andrade will meet Lauren Murphy in a women’s flyweight fight, and MMA legend Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will share the Octagon with Ihor Potieria.