Uriah Hall gets a second chance to live up to his hype from Ultimate Fighter when he faces Nick Ring on Aug. 17 in Boston.
UFC officially announced the middleweight battle on Thursday night. The fight will be part of the lineup of the company’s show that anchors the debut of Fox Sports 1.
Hall (7-3) came off last season’s reality show with three knockouts in four wins, including arguably the most spectacular knockout in Ultimate Fighter history. He was the most hyped fighter the show had created in years. But he then lost a decision to Kelvin Gastelum on the live final on April 13 in Las Vegas. Hall seemed the more talented of the two fighters, but Gastelum beat him hands down in wanting the win more.
In Ring (13-2), he faces a Calgary-based fighter who came off the 11th season of Ultimate Fighter. Ring, who competed as both a pro boxer and kickboxer prior to MMA, defeated eventual winner Court McGee during the season, but had to bow out due to a torn ACL which required major surgery. At the age of 34, with three major knee surgeries, Ring has gone 3-2 in UFC competition, including a second win over McGee.
Ring’s record has been filled with close decisions. His most recent fight, a split decision loss to Chris Camozzi on the March 16 show in Montreal, could have gone either way. Prior to that, his win over McGee on July 21 was one where most felt McGee was robbed, and his Feb. 27, 2011 win over Riki Fukuda was largely viewed the same way.