According to Ryan Hall, half of the Top 10 featherweight fighters on Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) roster have turned down offers to fight him, leaving him without a dance partner since the middle of last year.
“It’s been a little bit of a struggle to find an opponent,” he said recently. “I’ve been directly turned down or been told they’re unavailable from 12 all the way down to 6, So that would be (Shane) Burgos, (Jose) Aldo, (Josh) Emmett, (Jeremy) Stephens, (Renato) Moicano, Frankie (Edgar), (Calvin) Kattar – pretty much everyone down to ‘Korean Zombie’ or Yair Rodriguez. He’s been unavailable, so it’s been a little bit tough to find an opponent.”
But one man has accepted the challenge, as former title contender, Ricardo Lamas, will take on the submission wizard at the upcoming UFC Fight Night 174 event, which is set to go down on May 2, 2020 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Hall is undefeated thus far in his UFC career, winning all four of his fights against Artem Lobov, Gray Maynard, B.J. Penn and Darren Elkins, who he defeated at UFC Fight Night 155 last July. In fact, Hall hasn’t tasted defeat in nearly 14 years, only losing his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) debut back in 2006.
He’ll have a tough challenge on his hands in Lamas, as “The Bully” is as tough as they come and has been around the block a few times. That said, Lamas has struggled as of late, losing three of his last four, including his last bout against Calvin Kattar at UFC 238 last June. A win over Hall could be just what he needs to turn things around.
A victory for “The Wizard,” meanwhile, should be enough to catapult him into the Top 10, which could be what he needs in his search for bigger fights.
UFC Fight Night 174 is set to feature a middleweight collision between ex-champion, Chris Weidman, taking on Jack Hermansson. Also on the card, Andrei Arlovski returns to face Philipe Lins, while Claudia Gadelha and Marina Rodriguez throw down in women’s strawweight action.
To see the entire UFC Fight Night 174 fight card click here.