Scouting Report: Jamahal Hill

Jamahal Hill

Born: May 19, 1991 (Age: 31) in Chicago
Division: Light Heavyweight
Height: 6’4”
Reach: 79”
Record: 11-1 (5-1 UFC)
Association: Black Lion Jiu-Jitsu
Stage of Career: Prime

Summary: Hill is a fantastic striker, one of the best the light heavyweight division has to offer. He is long, athletic, ridiculously fast and deadly accurate. It all begins with a stellar jab with which he blasts opponents time and again, followed by a monstrous left cross that seems unstoppable. As if those weapons were not enough, he has a stout right uppercut and a tight, blindingly fast right hook. His kicks to the body and head are devastating, and he has a tremendous knee from range. Hill might be even more dangerous in the clinch, dissecting opponents with his hellacious knees, a powerful short elbow and excellent dirty boxing. His approach to the grappling is to nullify it, and he is mostly successful in that regard. His takedown defense is decent but can be punctured, but he absolutely excels at getting back to his feet. All of this is supported by good cardio and a high fight IQ.

STRIKING

• Stance: Southpaw.
• Hand Speed: Perhaps the best in the light heavyweight division, especially his left.
• Jab: Blasts opponents with it repeatedly, as it is fast, accurate, straight and powerful. He dropped Klidson Abreu with one.
• Cross: A major weapon. Fast, straight, sudden, accurate and fairly hard. Enhanced by the fact that he also goes to the body with it.
• Right Hook: Blindingly fast with a ridiculously tight arc, no wind-up and insane accuracy, in addition to power. It took out Jimmy Crute.
• Overhand Left: Does not throw it, which makes sense given his length and more upright stance.
• Uppercut: Accurate, sudden and fairly fast, though it lacks some power.
• Solitary Striker or Volume Puncher: More of a one-shot sniper, but he can open up with punches in bunches when an opening presents itself or the opponent is hurt.
• Favorite Combination(s): The one-two, which is exceptional. The two punches are great on their own, and he puts them together fluidly.
• Leg Kicks: Fairly quick and technical, even if they lack some power.
• Body Kicks: Fast, hard and accurate. A significant weapon out of the southpaw stance, whether it is a roundhouse or front kick.
• Head Kicks: Fast and explosive, they do damage even when blocked.
• Knees: Leaps forward quickly and accurately with solid, powerful shots to the opponent’s body. He does not go for flashy knees to the head, which often expend a lot of energy for little payoff.
• Chains Kicks to Punches: Yes, and he does so exceedingly well.

Hill has practically everything a fighter could want in terms of offensive striking tools. He is long and carries power in both hands, which are ridiculously fast and incredibly accurate. His jab is a consistent weapon that not only sets up the rest of his blows but has landed knockdowns all by itself. His other setup is an excellent right uppercut. He loves to follow it with his monstrous left cross—a true marvel in terms speed and accuracy. If opponents get too close, he has a blindingly fast right hook with a tight arc and knockout power. At range, he picks opponents apart with his outstanding kicks to the body and head, which he can throw as roundhouses or to fronts. Hill can also chain kicks to punches and wields a crushing knee to the body at range. He keeps chin high and has limited head movement, but those areas of weakness are difficult to exploit, as his footwork is outstanding. He circles well, mixes up directions and has a good sense of distance, retreating quickly when danger is afoot.

CLINCH

• Physical Strength: Holds his own against big, strong light heavyweights like Crute and Darko Stosic.
• Technique: Fights well for underhooks, positioning his head intelligently and observes other fundamentals.
• Knees: Throws them hard, fast and accurate, just like his punches and often targets the solar plexus. He finished Abreu and Alexander Poppeck with them.
• Elbows: Features an excellent short elbow. While technical and hard, it could be improved with a little more accuracy.
• Defense Against Knees/Elbows: Opponents have to worry far more about Hill’s strikes than vice versa.

Hill is a terror in the clinch because of his striking, particularly his amazing knees, which are fast, powerful and more often than not seem to find their intended mark: the solar plexus. However, he also has a dangerous short elbow at his disposal, along with plenty of excellent dirty boxing.

GRAPPLING

• Wrestling from a Shot: Does not attempt at his current level. It was limited prior to his arrival in the UFC. He completed an amateurish single-leg into an inside trip against Dequan Townsend, but it was nothing about which to write home.
• Wrestling in the Clinch: Does not do attempt at his current level. Hill did manage to execute a high-crotch single into a slam against the cage against Townsend.
• Takedown Defense: Sound but not impenetrable. He managed to defend against Poppeck and turned away some desperation attempts from Crute and Abreu, but he was briefly taken down by Thiago Santos and repeatedly by Stosic—twice on reaction to his knees and three times from nice double-leg shots.
• Ability to Return to Feet: A definite strength. Hill hip escapes quite well and is adept at wall-walking, on top of pushing an opponent’s head down.
• Submissions: Virtually non-existent. Even prior to his UFC run, the attempts Hill offered up were fairly poor. He has never won by submission in his career and stays away from this phase of the game at his current level.
• Defense/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from the Bottom: He makes himself vulnerable to ground-and-pound when he tries to get up; and as the fight with Paul Craig showed, Hill is potentially susceptible to well-conceived submission attempts.
• Top Control: Easy to sweep or reverse prior to his UFC fights, and since he landed in the promotion, he has never found himself on top—except when he was in the process of finishing off a badly hurt opponent.
• Ground-and-Pound: Remains an unknown. During the rare occasions when he finds himself in top position, he is usually putting the finishing touches on an opponent he dazed while standing. He certainly has good elbows.

Hill’s strategy for grappling is simple: Avoid it. His clinch striking is so dangerous that opponents do not want to hang out there long. While his takedown defense is decent enough to ward off lesser grapplers and attempts, he can certainly be taken down. However, it has proven difficult to keep him there, as he is outstanding at hip escaping and wall walking back up to his feet, showing a fine combination of athleticism and technique. He can be vulnerable to ground-and-pounded while getting up and has shown some weaknesses to submissions in the rare times an opponent can get off a good one.

INTANGIBLES

• Athleticism/General Physical Strength: Tremendous in both areas, more so than his frame would indicate.
• Cardio: Manages his energy well. Hill can fight energetically for two rounds, then slows down. However, he can still throw effective strikes and even finish opponents when fatigued, as he showed against Santos.
• Chin: There are some questions. He was once knocked down by a single straight left from Townsend despite it being his weak hand. Hill took some shots from Santos and Stosic well.
• Recuperative Powers: Likely excellent.
• Intelligence: Showed considerable improvement from his regional performances to his appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series and his UFC debut. Fights in a disciplined, calm manner, stays out of bad situations and takes advantages of opponents’ mistakes.