“He showed me the exact same combo a week before!” Jamahal Hill on the punch combination Ilia Topuria used to knock out Alexander Volkanovski

Jamahal Hill shares insights on Ilia Topuria's knockout combo, revealing a firsthand encounter with the technique before UFC 298.

“He showed me the exact same combo a week before!” Jamahal Hill on the punch combination Ilia Topuria used to knock out Alexander Volkanovski

Jamahal Hill comments on the knockout of Alexander Volkanovski by Ilia Topuria

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill was on the front row at UFC 298. The cameras caught his reaction, along with that of Sean O’Malley, Justin Gaethje, and Michael Chandler, when Ilia Topuria knocked out Alexander Volkanovski.

Jamahal Hill is an acquaintance of Topuria and Merab Dvalishvili, another Georgian. When Topuria knocked out Volkanovski, Hill showed bewilderment. However, he went on to applaud the accomplishment later. Moreover, he shared something interesting about the finish on his YouTube channel. This is what he said.

I will say this, the exact same combination that Ilia Topuria knocked Alexander Volkanovski out with, he showed me this exact same combo the week before at the PI...He hit me with the same combo in the library at the PI. We were just messing around...He literally threw two hooks, bang, caught the first one, threw the second one, and caught me. And like, he actually hit me, yeah, he actually hit me. It was so effective; the boy was sharp, bro, he was sharp.
Jamahal Hill via YouTube
YouTube video

Hill also stated that one of the reasons for Volkanovski’s loss was his constant affinity to being on the back foot. Moreover, he deduced that the knockout happened as Topuria countered Volkanovski’s counterpunch. Former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw had earlier remarked that fear of Topuria’s power was the main reason why Volkanovski lost.

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UFC 298 also had Dana White reveal the main event of UFC 300, which incidentally was between Jamahal Hill and Alex Pereira. White originally planned to headline the event with Leon Edwards against Islam Makhachev, Shavkat Rakhmonov, or Khamzat Chimaev. However, the aforementioned three are Muslims, and the timing conflicted with their observance of Holy Ramadan.

Merab Dvalishvili reveals sparring session with Ilia Topuria

It was a wonderful day at the office for Georgians at UFC 298. In addition to Ilia Topuria becoming champion in the main event, Merab Dvalishvili solidified his position as the best bantamweight with a victory over Henry Cejudo.

Merab Dvalishvili and Ilia Topuria
Merab Dvalishvili and Ilia Topuria (via Sportszion)

Dvalishvili was a recent guest on the JAXXON podcast, where he discussed many things, particularly related to UFC 298. Dvalishvili is a good friend of Topuria and had sparred with him in Spain. Interestingly, in the interview, he also revealed that Topuria dropped him with a body shot during sparring.

Dvalishvili also provided his take on Topuria’s victory against Alexander Volkanovski. He went on to state that Topuria is a master of putting pressure and has a short stance, making it difficult for anybody. Moreover, the power he possessed also detracted opponents from pressuring him back.

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