Athletes
Angela Hill Shows No Signs Of Slowing Down
Veteran Strawweight Angela Hill Is More Confident Than Ever Heading Into Her Co-Main Event Clash Against Tabatha Ricci At UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs Borralho
Angela Hill will make her 26th walk to the Octagon this Saturday when she takes on Tabatha Ricci at UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs Borralho.
While her first stint in the UFC started nearly 10 years ago, you could say the 39-year-old is just hitting her prime. Longtime veterans are often considered gatekeepers, fighters who newcomers need to beat to break into the rankings, but Hill is defying that label, and she shows no signs of slowing down.
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“I might be Holly Holm when it comes to oldest lady in the UFC,” Hill, who has a couple years on the 42-year-old Holm, joked. “I think it says a lot, and my body has held up. I feel fresh when I wake up, I feel ready to go, ready to train hard. I haven’t slowed down. If anything, I’ve gotten better, more aggressive in training, more successful in sparring. I’m in a good spot now where I could hang it up whenever I want, but right now I’m still really passionate about it and I still have a lot of goals I want to achieve.”
She’s defeated four of her last five opponents, two of which currently sit in the strawweight Top 15, with her only loss coming via decision to No. 8 ranked Mackenzie Dern. While she’s always been a formidable challenge for any opponent she crosses paths with, she’s hit a new gear these last couple years.
A large part of that evolution can be credited to her gym, Alliance MMA in San Diego, California, which has provided an abundance of female training partners and experienced coaches.
“Recently, I’ve been training with a lot of girls,” Hill said. “When I first got to Alliance MMA back in 2015, it was an open training session for anyone who had the stats to be there. I feel like we’re creating that again with the women in San Diego. I think that’s kept me really confident and it’s kept me on my toes and always improving with that whole ‘iron sharpens iron’ thing. A lot of times when you have the same training partners or you only train with guys or you all stagnate, then it’s easy to stay the same. I feel like I’ve been able to improve a lot just by having that open invitation and having a bunch of girls come through and try to beat me up and I try to beat them up and we all get better in this process.”
READ: Fight By Fight Preview | UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs Borralho
As Hill progresses through her mixed martial arts career, she’s becoming more and more comfortable throughout fight week, easing the nerves that once impacted her sleep and appetite days before her fights.
“I’ve been working on the mental side a bit more,” Hill said. “I think I’ve been more prepared in that category. I don’t feel like I’ve ever skimped on training, but when it comes to the mental training, a lot of times, especially with MMA athletes, I feel like if you’re not mentally tough already then you’re in the wrong sport. Once I started focusing on that and putting my ego aside and doing the work that it takes to get better in that category, I’ve been coming in feeling a lot more composed and feeling a lot more ready to do everything that I can do in the gym.”
Everything is coming together in time for her latest challenge, a co-main event clash against Tabatha “Baby Shark” Ricci this Saturday at UFC APEX. Hill used to consider this an unfavorable stylistic matchup due to the Brazilian’s jiu-jitsu and judo credentials.
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Known primarily as a striker, Hill has shifted her training focus from avoiding grappling to a more offensive strategy. Instead of just working on escaping bad positions, she’s now concentrating on putting her opponents in positions they don’t want to be in.
“Before, I would get nervous about doing the grappling side because I started as a striker,” Hill said. “Whenever we would prepare for fights it would be a striker camp. Lots of sprawl and brawl, lots of getting up from bad positions, but now I’m working going to the bad position for the other person. Constantly flowing to a place where I can beat them up and that’s a huge difference from where I was three or four years ago where it was just, OK, let’s stay where I’m comfortable. I’ve gotten really good at the places where I used to be uncomfortable.
I’m a Capricorn but I’d rather be a Killer Whale. #UFCVegas96 #OrcaVsBabyShark
— Angela Hill (@AngieOverkill) August 22, 2024
📷: @PhotoAmy33 pic.twitter.com/4y3JmPITFH
“I think with this fight, I’ve matured enough at this point where I can do all the things. I can score more points, I can land more volume, I can try to hurt them, I can have those big moments in the fight and just keep going through that cycle. Hopefully, I get the finish.”
Hill secured her firs finish in four years last time out when she submitted Luana Pinheiro via guillotine choke in the second round. Accompanied by a plush Orca whale throughout fight week, it’s safe to say she’ll be hunting another finish on Saturday.
“Orcas are the number one killer of baby sharks, and that’s the vibes I wanted to bring into this fight week,” Hill said.
UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs Borralho took place live from UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on August 24, 2024. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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