Anthony Smith has developed a close friendship with Jamahal Hill and is openly rooting for him as Hill prepares to take on another former UFC light heavyweight champion in Jiří Procházka at UFC 311 on Jan. 18.
Meanwhile, Smith has his own battle to focus on this Saturday at UFC 310, where he faces Dominick Reyes. Assessing the upcoming Procházka-Hill clash during media day, Smith acknowledged the challenges posed by the Czech star’s unorthodox fighting style but remains confident that Hill will secure a knockout victory.
Hill is coming off a strong run in the division, having put together a four-fight winning streak with three TKOs against Jimmy Crute, Johnny Walker, and Thiago Santos, followed by a decision victory over Glover Teixeira at UFC 283 to claim the title. However, he lost the belt to Alex Pereira via KO at UFC 300 this past April.
Procházka, heading into this fight, holds a 1-2 record in his last three bouts. Both losses came against Pereira via TKO — first for the vacant title at UFC 295 and again for the belt at UFC 303. His lone win during this stretch was a TKO victory over Aleksandar Rakić at UFC 300.
Smith shared his thoughts on the matchup during UFC 310 media day.
“Jiří is such a pain in the ass. He’s just got such a unique style and fights so free,” Smith said. “But anybody that’s as hittable as Jiří standing in front of Jamahal is going to have a bad night. That’s not just because Jamahal’s my friend — the power that guy carries is different. His ability to find shots is different, and you’re not going to have to work too hard to find Jiří’s head.”
