Alex Pereira is going on the defensive…

The 36-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist and former kickboxer will defend his UFC light heavyweight title against former champion Jamahal Hill in the UFC 300 headliner on April 13 in Las Vegas, UFC CEO Dana White has announced.

ESPN has Pereira ranked No. 7 on its pound-for-pound list.

Pereira (9-2) is the former UFC middleweight champion, and he was the quickest to win two divisional titles in UFC history (seven fights).

The Brazilian knockout artist stopped Jiri Prochazka via TKO to win the 205-pound belt at UFC 295 in November. Pereira knocked out Israel Adesanya in November 2022 to win the middleweight title before dropping the belt back to Adesanya in April.

Hill (12-1, 1 NC) has been out due to a torn Achilles tendon. He never lost the light heavyweight title but relinquished the belt last summer due to the injury. Hill, a 32-year-old Chicago native, has won four straight, and he beat Glover Teixeira to win the title in January 2023.

Pereira vs. Hill is the third title fight added to the card. Justin Gaethje will put his BMF belt on the line against Max Holloway, and Zhang Weili will defend the UFC women’s strawweight title against Yan Xiaonan.