UFC light heavyweight Jamahal Hill predicts vicious finish in Sean Strickland vs. Jared Cannonier clash

Jared Cannonier and Sean Strickland are set to face off in a middleweight clash accompanied by potential title implications. Jamahal Hill has shared his prediction for how he sees the fight playing out.

'The Killa Gorilla' is hoping to put his latest performance behind him and bulldoze his way back into the winner's column. During his last bout, the 38-year-old fought for the middleweight strap and found it tough to get a rhythm throughout the matchup. Ultimately, he would succumb to Israel Adesanya's elite movement and striking.

While discussing the brawl, Jamahal Hill made his prediction whilst highlighting Jared Cannonier's aggressive striking and Sean Strickland's questionable defense, saying:

"I might have to go Cannonier, to be honest with you. Right off [of my] first thought, just because of how Sean comes in, how square he does, he takes every shot [and] Jared's powerful and those fu**ing leg kicks are nasty."

The two 185lbers were originally scheduled to collide earlier in the year, but an injury to Sean Strickland forced the bout to be postponed. The pair will now feature as the headline match during a UFC Fight Night on December 17.

Although they are arguably behind Robert Whittaker, Paulo Costa, and Marvin Vettori in the pecking order, the winner will likely insert himself back into title contention.

This will be Strickland's first outing since losing his #1 contender brawl and suffering a devastating knockout in the first round at the hands of the heavy-hitting Brazilian, Alex Pereira.

Check out what Jamahal Hill had to say about the middleweight fight in the video below.

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What's next for Jamahal Hill?

Jamahal Hill had a huge 2022, and the Contender Series product cemented himself as one of the best light heavyweights in the world. So what's next for the surging prospect?

Excluding his fight against Paul Craig—where he was caught in a gruesome submission—'Sweet Dreams' has been a sensation inside the cage. He answered a lot of questions during his most recent outing against Thiago Santos.

With wins over Jimmy Crute, Johnny Walker, and the aforementioned Santos, Hill finds himself ranked at #6 in the division. Though there aren't too many options for the knockout artist at present, the 205lb weight class is still filled with possibilities.

Everyone ranked above him is either booked for a fight or injury. The in-form Nikita Krylov is arguably the most realistic matchup left for him, following the Ukrainian's recent wins over Alexander Gustafsson and Volkan Oezdemir.