UFC 283: Jamahal Hill beats Glover Teixeira to win light-heavyweight title

Hill's victory extends his winning streak in the UFC to four

Jamahal Hill beat home favourite Glover Teixeira by unanimous decision to win the light-heavyweight title at UFC 283 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

American Hill, 31, dominated the stand-up throughout as he won his maiden title in his eighth UFC fight.

He becomes the first athlete to become champion after earning a UFC contract via president Dana White's Contender Series.

Following the defeat, Brazil's Teixeira, 43, announced his retirement.

Former champion Teixeira has spent 10 years in the UFC, winning 16 of his 23 fights in the promotion.

In the co-main event, Mexico's Brandon Moreno beat Brazil's Deiveson Figueiredo to become a two-time undisputed flyweight champion.

Moreno, 29, stunned Figueiredo, 35, with a left hook, opening a large cut below his right eye. Swelling caused the eye to shut, leading the doctor to call off the fight at the end of the third round.

It brought to an end a historic fourth fight between the pair, with Moreno winning two, losing one and drawing the other.

Hill rises to the occasion

The event at the Jeunesse Arena was the first in Brazil since 2020 when Charles Oliveira defeated Kevin Lee.

The country has a rich MMA history, producing all-time greats such as Anderson Silva, Amanda Nunes and Jose Aldo.

The UFC light-heavyweight division has been without a champion since the start of December after Jiri Prochazka vacated the title following a shoulder injury.

Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev fought for the belt last month but it ended in a draw, which led to the bout between Hill and Teixeira being set up.

Some were surprised at the pairing, with Hill seventh to Teixeira's second in the UFC light-heavyweight rankings. But Hill looked at home throughout the five rounds against his vastly experienced opponent.

Hill was the far busier, throwing a record-breaking number of strikes in a UFC light-heavyweight bout, with his left high kick causing Teixeira problems throughout.

Teixeira's best route to victory appeared to be on the ground, but despite a couple of successful takedowns he was unable to significantly threaten Hill.

Teixeira absorbed significant damage and looked close to being finished a number of times, but he showed incredible durability to recover each time he was shaken.

Following victory, Hill burst into tears and was overcome with emotion during the post-fight interview.

"Where I came from to get to this is unreal. I had to fight for everything just to be here, to get this. I had to fight to live," he said.

"[Teixeira] is tough as bricks. I don't know anybody who would be able to take what I was throwing and keep going. It was an honour to share this cage with him."

After laying his gloves on the canvas, Teixeira announced his intention to focus on coaching middleweight champion Alex Pereira.

"I think I'm too tough for my own good, my own health," said Teixeira.

"I cant keep up any more, I'm going to focus my energy on training Alex Pereira. It's an honour to lay my gloves down on the same night as Shogun [Rua] but I can't keep up anymore."

Moreno closes epic Figueiredo rivalry

Moreno earned the ninth win of his UFC career

The bout between Figueiredo and Moreno was the first time in UFC history that two athletes had faced each other four times.

The pair drew when they first clashed for the title in 2020, before Moreno won in 2021 to become the UFC's first ever Mexican champion.

Figueiredo avenged that defeat in the trilogy bout last January, becoming a two-time flyweight champion.

Moreno's preparations for this fight were hampered halfway through his training camp in December when it was revealed his head coach James Krause had been suspended by the UFC amid an alleged betting scandal, forcing him to find a new coach.

But Moreno showed no signs of disruption as he largely outclassed the home favourite over three rounds.

Moreno mixed up his attacks superbly, landing a number of swift combinations which were followed up by takedown attempts.

Moreno spent a significant part of the fight controlling it on the ground, ending all three rounds in the dominant top position, and was up on the scorecards when the doctor called off the fight.

Following the defeat, Figueiredo announced he would be moving up to bantamweight.

Elsewhere, Scotland's Paul Craig suffered disappointment, losing to Brazil's Johnny Walker in the first round of their light-heavyweight contest.

Walker, 30, who trains in Ireland, dropped Craig, 35, with a flurry of right hands, despite having his lead leg caught during a front kick, before ending the bout with hammerfists as the referee stepped in.

The defeat is Craig's second in a row following a six-fight unbeaten streak, while Walker's victory will secure him a spot in the top 10 of the UFC light-heavyweight rankings.

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