Sioux Falls, SD – Bellator bantamweight Josh Hill wanted someone in the top 10, but ended up with Marcos Breno after his original opponent pulled out of Bellator 284.
“I asked for somebody in the top 10. They told me nobody’s available right now. I said I’d like to fight somebody ahead of me in the rankings even though I know the rankings don’t really mean a whole lot,” Hill told Cageside Press among other media on Wednesday.
“Yeah I don’t know what happened. They said everybody is either matched up or unavailable or still suspended.”
Hill’s original opponent, Matheus Mattos, pulled out of Bellator 284 due to injury so Breno stepped up on short notice.
Hill did not want to wait until later in the year to fight again so he accepted the bout with Mattos. Now he faces Breno in South Dakota.
Breno (14-2) makes his Bellator debut against a top 10 bantamweight in Hill. He comes off a knockout win at LFA 111 in July 2021.
“He’s good. He’s an aggressive up-and-comer. Good record. Coming off a good win so I think he’s a dangerous opponent, and he’s going to look to come in hot and make a statement and try to use me and my name,” Hill said.
“I think between the two, Mattos and Breno, I think they’re pretty similar stylistically. So it wasn’t a huge adjustment as far as preparation.”
With the Bellator bantamweight grand prix currently going on Hill would be remiss if he didn’t speak on it and what it means for him going forward.
“It kind of holds things up a little bit. I’m focusing on this one for sure that’s my main center of focus right now is just getting through this and beating Breno,” Hill said.
“But you know they’ve got to give me somebody that’s ahead of me in the rankings. Somebody that’s going to put me right up in title contention again. We’ll kind of see how it plays out.”
Watch the entire media day scrum with Josh Hill above. Bellator 284 goes down in Sioux Falls, SD on Friday August 12th.
