Following Alex Pereira‘s recent win over Jiri Prochazka, Jamahal Hill called out ‘Poatan’ for a rematch after ‘Sweet Dreams’ wins his next fight. The reigning champion shared a one-word reply, which could have triggered the former champion. However, that wasn’t what Hill seemed to have issues with. His issues are related to certain remarks that were made about him recently.

Jamahal Hill has been calling out Alex Pereira for a while now, and his posts have led many to believe that he has some kind of bad blood with the Brazilian ace. There were even speculations that ‘Sweet Dreams’ is willing to throw down whenever he bumps into Pereira. However, that doesn’t seem to be the truth, as per Hill’s latest statements.

Jamahal Hill has no bad blood with Alex Pereira

The former light heavyweight champion mentioned that the way he’s been taking aim at Alex Pereira with multiple jibes is not an indication that he has any kind of personal vendetta against the reigning champion. He claims that the animosity fans have witnessed between him and ‘Poatan’ is purely out of competitiveness.

“People have this misconception that I hate Alex, that I have this straight-up thing when I continuously say it’s pure competition and competitively driven,” Jamahal Hill stated on his YouTube channel. He then turned his attention to the rumors regarding his willingness to fight Pereira whenever they meet up, which he deemed disappointing. ‘Sweet Dreams’ stood his ground on his claims that he had never made these kinds of statements.

“[There] was this statement of, ‘Oh, he said it was on-site’… When did I say that? Where did I say whenever I see Alex it’s on sight? You cannot show me anywhere where I’ve said that because I have never said that,” Hill added. He further made another case for his confession about not having any heat with Alex Pereira, and that was the payout he received when the duo fought at UFC 300. Hill doesn’t want to jeopardize another chance like that either.

“I made quite a bit of money fighting Alex the first time. I’m going to make quite a bit of money fighting Alex again. Why would I risk that for a… little scuffle at the PI?” In addition to the financial and competitive reasons Jamahal Hill provided to clarify the speculations about a rift between him and Alex Pereira, the former champion also shared a personal reason why he seems to admire ‘Poatan’.

‘Sweet Dreams’s finds Pereira an admirable family man

Jamahal Hill is a father to six children, and he enjoys that aspect of his life. Similarly, Alex Pereira has two sons of his own, and having witnessed how he loves them and has always given them a look into his professional fighting life, making them a part of his journey, ‘Sweet Dreams’ seems to respect that about the 205-pound champion. They were there when he bumped into Pereira at the UFC PI, and since his kids were there, ‘Sweet Dreams’ did not want to create a scene.

“Secondly, Alex, one of the things that I honestly respect and I’m a fan of the most about Alex is his fatherhood… The way the dad and his sons… his sons were with him at the PI… I would never put him in a position where he would have felt like he’d cut experiences, like bringing his kids somewhere around… because of fear of a dangerous situation,” Jamahal Hill stated.

Jamahal Hill can go off the rails sometimes, particularly during a build-up to a fight. Even Alex Pereira mentioned that he was disrespectful before their UFC 300 fight went down. However, it seems to be a professional and not a personal thing for Hill as we wait to see how ‘Poatan’ responds to the latest claims.