Since dropping his first two UFC fights, middleweight Uriah Hall has reeled off two straight victories over Chris Leben and Thiago Santos.
The 30-year-old fought on Season 17 of The Ultimate Fighter and made a name for himself showcasing his kickboxing skills but fell short of winning the tournament, losing to the show’s last pick Kelvin Gastelum. Hall was expected to get a crack at top-15 middleweight, and former foe, Costas Philippou at UFC Fight Night: Boston, but the latter was forced to withdraw due to injury.
Hall, instead, will face off with Strikeforce and Bellator veteran Louis Taylor. The 35-year-old Taylor has looked impressive as of late, winning three straight fights on the independent circuit via first-round guillotine chokes.
Taylor is a high-level wrestler who has trained with the likes of Matt Hughes and Brock Lesnar. While his knockout power is apparent, he has shown a propensity for telegraphing strikes, as he did against Joe Riggs.
The Reign MMA fighter Hall has already shown improvements to his wrestling, which will complement his striking prowess. His next fight against Taylor could be the one where he eventually puts his entire MMA game together.
Hall’s last win over the former TUF: Brazil 2 competitor Santos was a very close fight, in which his wrestling proved to be the difference-maker, stuffing both of Santos’ takedown attempts and winning a prevailing third round. Hall even continued to throw kicks despite suffering a broken toe in the fight.
An emotional Hall would celebrate the victory post-fight with UFC announcer Joe Rogan and talked about the adversity he has faced in his short UFC career.
“I was taught to face it. If it comes at you and life takes you down, you get up and say ‘you hit like a b—h,'” exclaimed Hall.
His mental state is what has been criticized by those like UFC President Dana White. Hall could potentially be 4-0 in the Octagon if he had figuratively “flipped the switch” in bouts against Gastelum and John Howard.
On the feet is where Hall, usually, will have the easiest path to victory over Taylor. If he can avoid the power and leg kicks of Taylor, using his six-inch reach advantage and improved wrestling skills, it would give Hall his biggest victory to date.
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