Jamahal Hill acknowledges that a future goal of his is to compete against Jon Jones.

Since Jones (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC) and Hill (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) are at separate stages of their respective careers, Hill, the freshly minted UFC light heavyweight champion, is aware that a meeting between them in the near future is unrealistic. Later on, he most definitely does not rule anything out.

Jones had previously owned the 205-pound belt that Hill now possesses. He never lost the strap in the cage, but he did give it up when he wanted to step up to heavyweight. After a long absence, Jones will make his comeback on March 4 when he competes against Ciryl Gane for the vacant heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 285.

Hill told the "Believe You Me" podcast that Jones is a big reason why he's had so much success in MMA, even if he's not sure when or how it would happen.

“Yeah, 1,000% – I want to eventually build to a fight against Jon,” Hill said. “He’s the ultimate test. He was from the time that I came and decided I want to make this run. At first when it started it was Anderson Silva. He was the man. It was 2010 and things like that, but when he had his injury, I kind of fell off from the sport.”

Hill will aim to defend his 205-pound belt in the near future. He has stated that former champion Jiri Prochazka should be his first opponent for the championship, although it is unclear whether Prochazka will be able to recover in time to compete by July or August.