Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamal Hill is planning a debut at heavyweight and has called out Sergei Pavlovich as his desired opponent. Hill has been inactive since losing to Khalil Rountree at UFC Baku over a year ago.
Jamal Hill is setting his sights on a new division, publicly calling out heavyweight contender Sergei Pavlovich as his preferred opponent for what would be his debut at 265 pounds.
Hill, the former UFC light heavyweight champion, has been on the sidelines for more than a year following his loss to Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC Baku. Rountree, now ranked seventh at light heavyweight, is a 36-year-old southpaw standing six-foot-one with a 76-inch reach. The veteran striker lands 3.88 significant strikes per minute at 40 percent accuracy, and the win over Hill was another statement result on a resume built almost entirely on striking.
Pavlovich, the man Hill wants to face, sits third in the UFC heavyweight rankings and carries a 20-3-0 record. The 34-year-old Russian, who trains out of Eagles MMA, is one of the division's most feared punchers. Standing six-foot-three with an 84-inch reach, Pavlovich lands 4.43 significant strikes per minute at 44 percent accuracy — numbers that rank among the best in the heavyweight division. He fights out of a southpaw stance and does not rely on the submission game, posting zero submission attempts per 15 minutes.
Why it matters
- A win over a top-three heavyweight would instantly legitimize Hill as a serious 265-pound contender.
- Both fighters are southpaw strikers, setting up a technical and physical matchup between two of the harder hitters in their respective divisions.
- Hill stepping up in weight while ranked out of the light heavyweight title picture adds urgency to the move, giving him a potential fast track to relevance at heavyweight.
- Pavlovich's ranking means any opponent he faces carries significant title-contention implications in a wide-open division.
