Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamal Hill is planning a move up to heavyweight and has expressed a desire to fight Sergei Pavlovich in his debut at the new weight class. Hill has been inactive since losing to Khalil Rountree at UFC Baku last year.
Jamal Hill has set his sights on the heavyweight division and is calling out ranked contender Sergei Pavlovich as his preferred opponent for a debut at 265 pounds.
Hill, the former UFC light heavyweight champion, has been out of action since dropping his title 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 15-7 knockout specialist lands 3.88 significant strikes per minute at 40 percent accuracy, and the performance that handed Hill his most recent defeat underscored just how dangerous he remains in that division.
Pavlovich, the man Hill wants to welcome him to heavyweight, enters any potential matchup as the third-ranked contender in the division. The 34-year-old Russian trains out of Eagles MMA and carries a 20-3 record. Standing six-foot-three with an enormous 84-inch reach, the southpaw is one of the most feared finishers in the heavyweight ranks, landing 4.43 significant strikes per minute at 44 percent accuracy. Those numbers reflect a fighter who has built his reputation on overwhelming opponents with volume and power.
Why it matters
- Hill moving up would mark a rare championship-level talent testing himself across two divisions, adding immediate intrigue to the heavyweight picture.
- A matchup with the third-ranked Pavlovich would throw Hill into the deep end, with no gradual climb through the contender rankings.
- Both fighters are southpaws with elite striking credentials, making the style matchup a potentially explosive clash of knockout artists.
- Hill's inactivity since UFC Baku means a high-profile callout is a logical way to re-establish himself, regardless of which division he competes in next.
