UFC is filled with rivalries and fighters making fun of their rivals. But Alex Pereira decided to take the rivalry with Jamahal Hill a notch higher. Well, the duo has already battled in the Octagon at UFC 300 and the man with the hands of stone has already defeated ‘Sweet Dreams’ with a knockout strike. However, Hill repeatedly blamed Pereira for cheating and closing the gap while he had his guard down. But ‘Poatan’ found the perfect aim as he reacted to Hill’s chest tattoo.

During his appearance on the JAXXON podcast on 30th January 2025, Bear Degidio, one of the podcast’s co-hosts, asked the light heavyweight champion about his thoughts on Hill’s tattoos. At first, Pereira wasn’t able to recall the tattoos and asked the podcasting team to pull up an image.

Meanwhile, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson said, “I’m a big fan of Jamahal Hill too, so I won’t…” The former UFC contender claimed that he had never seen tattoos like Hill’s when the team pulled the image up. 

The tattoo showed “Northside’s” written in cursive across Hill’s chest and a thumbs-up sign on either side of the text. For those who know, Hill’s tattoo is a reference to a dangerous crime-ridden neighborhood. And yes, that’s the place he grew up in. But the light heavyweight champion interpreted it in a different light. He said, “Some guy is putting like,” and made two thumbs-down signs.

The reaction sent the entire room into a fit of laughter. But it was ‘Rampage’ who seemed to laugh the hardest. He turned away and laughed his heart out, as the others kept calling him out to turn himself the right way. But leaving the fun part aside, how does a rematch between Hill and Pereira look like? Let’s hear it from the champ himself.

Alex Pereira weighs in on his rivalry against Jamahal Hill

Jamahall Hill seemingly lost his chance to get back at Pereira after he lost the bout against Jiri Prochazka with a 3rd round KO at UFC 311. But that doesn’t matter to the LHW king. Reacting to the loss during a conversation with MMA Junkie, Pereira said, “I have absolutely no problem with him. We’re both the same. Sometimes I’ll go and make some fun before the fight. Or he will (say something about me). But tomorrow we’re going to hold hands and respect each other. I think all the turmoil that was created is part of the sport.”

Well, ‘Poatan’ claimed that he was ready to fight anyone. It simply didn’t matter where ‘Sweet Dreams’ landed in the UFC athlete rankings, following his bout against Prochazka. He continued, “I’m here to fight. If he’s No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, No. 5, No. 6, I’m just here to fight anybody.” And all we need to do is wait and watch the story unfold. 

But before that, Pereira has to battle Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 and defend his light heavyweight championship title for the fourth time. Will he fight Hill after that and repeat the kind of performance he showed at UFC 300? Only time has the power to tell that for sure. 

What are your thoughts on ‘Sweet Dreams’s chest tattoo? Do you think it’s enough to intimidate other fighters in the light heavyweight division? Drop down to the debate section and keep the conversation flowing.