Jiri Prochazka vs Jamahal Hill Prediction: Battle of the best of the rest at light heavyweight

Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champions will do battle at UFC 311 as Jiri Prochazka takes on Jamahal Hill. This high-quality 205lb match-up takes place at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California on Saturday, January 18. TNT Sports will broadcast the event.

Here are my Prochazka vs Hill predictions ahead of this excellent bout.

Prochazka vs Hill Fight Odds

This is a close one. So much so that these fighters actually both started the week priced at 10/11. But money has been moving on Hill and he now finds himself 8/11 to prevail. Prochazka has dropped to 11/10. Still close, but the populace have picked their winner. If you can’t split them, a draw is 50/1.

Fight Preview

There are elements of symmetry in this meeting between the second and third-ranked light heavyweight contenders. Both men lost in UFC Light Heavyweight title bouts in their last outing. Both Prochazka and Hill also lost those fights to the same man, reigning kingpin Alex Pereira. 

Incredibly, their similarities stretch ever further. They won the title against the same man, Glover Teixeira. Both Prochazka and Hill had to vacate their titles through injury, before losing in make-good title shots against Pereira. 

With Pereira on a troubled collision course with top-seed Magomed Ankalaev, Saturday’s fight looks set to name the likeliest contender to fight the winner of that eventual match-up. Winning at UFC 311 will be our subjects’ best chance of reclaiming the belt they once held.

You would expect Prochazka to be hoping for an Ankalaev victory. He has lost twice to Pereira by stoppage already and a third fight will be a tough sell for the UFC. But ‘BJP’ has publicly lobbied for a Pereira fight. Regaining the belt is the most important thing for Prochazka, no matter who the champion is.

Hill never lost his title in the cage, having to surrender it through the aforementioned injury. The balance was redressed when he received a shot at the new champion, Oliveira. That did not go the way of ‘Sweet Dreams’, who succumbed by knockout in the very first round. 

Before that setback, Hill had been on a tear. Since losing to Paul Craig in 2021, his only other UFC defeat, the Michigan native won four on the bounce. Along with the title-clinching decision over Teixeira, Hill scored consecutive knockouts over Jimmy Crute, Johnny Walker and Thiago Santos. 

In between the Pereira defeats, Prochazka put in a Performance of the Night display in stopping Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 300. His twin-title defeats don’t look to be a sign of decline, but rather a case of meeting an insurmountable opponent.

Therefore, both men will have every reason to feel they can win this closely-poised fight. It is quite clear where the fight will largely reside too. Prochazka has 26 knockouts in his 30 wins. Hill has seven from 12. The duo have only three submissions between them, all belonging to Prochazka. 

He might try and use that as a point of difference, but it feels unlikely. The ex-champ has just one submission in his UFC stint. No, a firefight feels far more likely here. Hill is an aggressive striker who utilises kickboxing as his chief weapon, despite a BJJ brown belt in his locker.

Meanwhile, Prochazka is a decorated Muay Thai practitioner. A black belt in the Kyokushin style of full-contact karate, he is as dangerous as strikers come. This fight is set to be a masterclass in stand-up warfare. Look for Prochazka and Hill to make up for recent setbacks and lost time in brutal fashion. Fight of the Night incoming. 

UFC 311 Full Card

Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan

Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov

Jiří Procházka vs. Jamahal Hill

Beneil Dariush vs. Renato Moicano

Kevin Holland vs. Reinier de Ridder

Preliminary card

Payton Talbott vs. Raoni Barcelos

Jailton Almeida vs. Serghei Spivac 

Zachary Reese vs. Sedriques Dumas

Early preliminary card

Grant Dawson vs. Carlos Diego Ferreira

Karol Rosa vs. Ailín Pérez 

Rinya Nakamura vs. Muin Gafurov

Ricky Turcios vs. Bernardo Sopaj

Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Clayton Carpenter

Prochazka vs Hill Prediction

Now comes the time where I must split these two halves of the same coin. With their paths seemingly predestined and their journeys so similar. Their skills are a perfect match. Will they cancel each other out? Or meld into an ideal meeting of styles?

I lean towards the latter. I think this will be an excellent fight fought at an elite level. As for who wins it? I’m leaning towards Prochazka. His greater experience and unbelievable knockout power give him the edge for me. I’m picking Prochazka and let’s make it interesting. I’ll take him by knockout at 7/4.

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