Alex Poatan's rival details knee injury that will sideline him from the UFC until the end of 2026

Jamahal Hill was knocked out by Alex Poatan at UFC 300. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram

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Jamahal Hill will have to wait a long time to make his long-awaited comeback in the octagon. The former champion, who is experiencing the worst phase of his UFC career, suffered a knee injury and his return is expected at the end of 2026.

In an interview with 'Home of Fight', Jamahal Hill detailed the true state of his knee. According to the fighter, the cartilage was practically non-existent and he was dealing with serious injuries in the area, which led him to seek a transplant.

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“Apparently, the cartilage in my knee was practically nonexistent. I had some pretty serious injuries down there, even to the cartilage, so I tried a cartilage transplant. I filled everything in, trying to recover and get back that drive in my legs. If you noticed in the last few fights, I haven’t really been jumping or leaping, or just getting up explosively, or throwing real kicks or anything like that,” said Jamahal Hill.

Determined to prioritize his return to the top, the fighter admitted he tried to delay surgery as long as possible. He explained that he didn't want to interrupt his pursuit of the light heavyweight belt.

"I hope that with this being done, something I was trying to avoid because I wanted to get my belt back. I lost it while I was at the top due to an injury, and I just wanted to come back and get it back as soon as possible. I tried to be conservative with some things that need to be approached more aggressively," concluded the former light heavyweight champion.

After defeating Glover Teixeira and winning the UFC belt, Jamahal Hill saw his career take a completely different turn. The American suffered a hamstring injury, was forced to relinquish the title, and subsequently was knocked out by Alex Poatan and Jiri Prochazka , in addition to being dominated by Khalil Rountree , totaling three consecutive losses.

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