PHOENIX – If you like a little bad blood to help fuel the fire in a professional cage fight, then Paul Craig vs. Jamahal Hill might just be the bout for you.

The two light heavyweights kick off Saturday’s UFC 263 pay-per-view main card, and they don’t seem terribly fond of each other – with Hill openly admitting he’s taking things personally.

“I’m taking this a little personal just because of some of the things that were said,” Hill told MMA Junkie at a Wednesday media day. “I mean, some of the narratives that Paulicia decided to paint, yeah, I didn’t appreciate that.”

The animosity started when Hill (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) was forced to withdraw from a planned March meeting with Craig (14-4-1 MMA, 6-4-1 UFC), at which point the Scot took to Twitter to announce that his opponent “pulled out” from the fight. Hill didn’t take kindly to the idea he willingly removed himself from the contest.

Fight has been cancelled due to Hill pulling out. Rematch has been agree. #bearjew #mma #comingforyou #bearjewjitsu #moretimetogetbetter #gutted #ufc #ufcfighter @ Las Vegas, Nevada https://t.co/Fa4WCvPksG

— Paul Craig (@PCraigmma) March 10, 2021

“I didn’t appreciate the ‘he pulled out’ comment,” Hill said. “I didn’t appreciate him calling me a b*tch and telling me to show him a COVID test and, ‘if you’re coughing up blood, show it.’ I didn’t appreciate that sh*t, you know what I mean, so he gets to feel it.”

Hill isn’t shy about letting his animosity be known, and he even confronted Craig in the host hotel when the two crossed paths on Wednesday.

“I was outside signing posters, and he came up to me and was asking me if I was on drugs,” Craig said. “You can watch the videos. Somebody caught it, one of the coaches caught it and posted it all over social media, so it’s just this weird interaction where I’m kind of taken aback by his, like, wasting time. You come over to me where we’re all doing media? Conduct yourself in an orderly fashion, please.”

For his part, Hill said the confrontation was a necessary interaction.

“If you call me a b*tch, I mean, you talk like I’m scared of you, I’m going to let you look me dead in my eyes and you’re really going to see what it is,” Hill said. “I don’t play. I mean, where I come from, we don’t play like that, you know?”

Craig is well-aware of his opponent’s anger but believes it’s all misplaced. In fact, he thinks it will have a negative impact on undefeated light heavyweight’s performance when they clash on Saturday at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz.

“This is the fight business, isn’t it?” Craig asked. “Anybody who you’re up against, they’re angry, they’re emotional in the fight. But if you spend six months being angry and emotional leading into it, then it’s wasted energy. Just focus on yourself and get ready for the fight – and he’s very emotional.”

As you might imagine, Hill sees things a little differently.

“It’s none of that,” Hill said. “It’s just me letting you know – letting you know the type of person that you’re dealing with, the type of fighter that you that you’re about to be locked in there with. I mean, I felt like it was fair to let him know, you know? I mean, I had to ask him when I was like, ‘Who’s your dope man?’ because some of the sh*t he’s been saying, I’m like, ‘Whatever you’re smoking, I need some of that, bro.’

“Me taking it personal just means I’m going to be sharper, make sure I’m sharp, you know? I mean, that’s what I expect from myself. The emotion don’t take nothing from nothing I do. Really outside of the fact I don’t like him, it’s no different than any other fight. That’s all it is. I just don’t like him.”

Who will have bragging rights after Saturday? That remains to be seen as the rivalry continues to build. Oddsmakers have installed Craig as a fairly sizable favorite to keep his perfect career record unblemished, but Craig has been known to claim an upset or two.

He thinks he’ll catch another one at UFC 263.

“I see it as a second-round submission,” Craig said. “I do see him coming out very, very gun-happy at the start, trying to finish the fight early. We’ve seen that happen to me before where I just ride that storm and I’m like Hulk – you know, when he Hulks up and he’s getting stronger – by the third round, and that’s when I normally do my best work. But I genuinely believe it will be a second-round submission.”