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Jamahal Hill revealed he had a "weird" interaction with his upcoming opponent, Khalil Rountree Jr, at the UFC Performance Institute.
In December, eight months after they fought, an altercation between Hill and Alex Pereira nearly became physical while both fighters were at the UFC's training center in Las Vegas.
While speaking to 'The Schmo,' Hill talked about another altercation he encountered at the UFC PI, this time with Rountree, his upcoming opponent:
"The only time we did have an interaction, it was weird. I was in the [UFC Performance Institute], I say what's up to anybody, I'll say hi to anybody. I walk into the locker room or whatever, and [Rountree is] like, 'Man, you really don't like me, do you?' I was like, 'What?' He was like, 'You really don't like me.' I was like, 'I don't even know you. Like, we haven't had a conversation. We haven't had anything.'"
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Hill continued:
"It's almost like he's content, like he's got to build me up as this villain or as this person that he hates in his head to fight, which is fine with me. Whenever you start putting the energy off to the UFC staff and sh*t like, 'We can't be around each other or something is gonna happen.' You not finna do sh*t, so what's the point of that? It's weird to me."
Watch Jamahal Hill discuss his interaction with Khalil Rountree below:
What's at stake between Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree Jr?
Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree Jr were initially scheduled to fight in the UFC Kansas City main event on April 26. Hill pulled out of the matchup due to an undisclosed injury.
The light heavyweight contenders rescheduled their matchup for the UFC Baku main event, which goes down in Azerbaijan on June 21.
The UFC light heavyweight division features reigning champion Magomed Ankalaev, Alex Pereira arguably deserving an immediate title rematch after being dethroned, and Jiri Prochazka having a strong presence in the title picture.
Meanwhile, number four-ranked Hill and number seven-ranked Rountree are coming off losses. Hill against Prochazka and Rountree against Pereira in a title fight.
With a win at UFC Baku, Hill or Rountree would re-enter the light heavyweight title picture and arguably be one more win away from a chance to challenge the division's champion.
