SUMMARY
- Dana White spoke about Kelsey Plum at the press conference of UFC 298, where Ilia Topuria knocked out Alexander Volkanovski.
- White compared the WNBA star to Jamahal Hill, who is coming back from an Achilles injury to face Alex Pereira at UFC 300.
Dana White recently witnessed the huge success of UFC 298. Ilia Topuria knocked out Alexander Volkanovski and became the UFC’s new featherweight champion. After the fight, Dana heaped praise on both fighters and applauded their efforts to put on a show for the world.
That was not all, White also spoke plenty about UFC 300, the much-awaited and historic card for the company. He was asked about Jamahal Hill’s comeback from an Achilles injury, to face the mighty Alex Pereira in April.
Dana said, “I’m friends with Kelsey Plum.., she had the same injury. She came back and won MVP and won a national title. He’s been going to the PI, she recovered from that injury at the PI. Hopefully, he’s good.”
It surely seems like Dana trusts in Hill’s ability to recover well since Kelsey Plum managed to get back on track in style as well.
How did Jamahal Hill rupture his Achilles tendon?
Jamahal Hill had to relinquish the UFC light heavyweight title back in July 2023 after rupturing his Achilles tendon. His last fight was against Glover Teixeira at UFC 283, when he won because of an unanimous decision.
Hill did not reveal the cause for his injury at the time, but there were several reports about how it might’ve happened. Some outlets mentioned that he ruptured his Achilles tendon during a pickup basketball game in Las Vegas.
After almost a year, he will be making a comeback to the octagon vs Pereira, who will be defending the belt for the first time since beating Jiri Prochazka. It is surprising to see Dana lineup Jamahal Hill against Alex Pereira right after recovering from a serious injury, but it will be interesting to see what the American can pull off.
Kelsey Plum recovered at the UFC Performance Institute
For some context, Kelsey Plum is a WNBA player who represents the Las Vegas Aces, one of the greatest teams on the planet right now. In 2020, tragedy struck when Kelsey tore Achilles tendon and missed the entire WNBA season that year.
Where do I start….I tore my achillies tendon couple days ago. So many people that love and support me and will stand by me through this, I’m grateful. I’ll be back, better than ever. Just wait on it ✊
— Kelsey Plum (@Kelseyplum10) June 11, 2020
It is said that during a pickup game in Portland, Kelsey felt a pop when she planted her left foot, and that was when she suffered the injury.
The 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics took place the following year, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. That may have been a blessing in disguise for Plum, who managed to recover in time for the prestigious event. She went on to represent Team USA that year, and even led them to a gold medal. If that wasn’t enough, she has also won two consecutive championships with the Las Vegas Aces in 2022 and 2023. She was also the 2022 WNBA All-Star Game MVP.
It certainly looks like the UFC PI pulled off a remarkable feat with Plum, who has shown no signs of slowing down since that injury. Dana might be hoping that history repeats itself and Hill tastes some success in his career despite the setback.