Uriah Hall will now face Robert Whittaker at UFC 193 after Michael Bisping withdrew from the Melbourne event with an elbow injury.
As reported by Elias Cepeda of Fox Sports, Bisping confirmed his decision to withdraw on Wednesday’s UFC Tonight. It’s also noted he will need surgery to fully recover from the problem.
“I apologise to everybody who bought tickets, to the UFC, to [scheduled opponent] Robert Whittaker for pulling out of the fight,” he said. “It’s still going to be an amazing show. I’m just annoyed that I’m not going to be there to be a part of it.”
Bisping also posted the following on his Instagram, vowing he would be back in the Octagon soon:
Hall will pose a completely different problem for Whittaker at the Etihad Stadium, in an event which will be headlined by Ronda Rousey’s clash with Holly Holm and set to break UFC attendance records.
The man from Jamaica bagged a stunning knockout in his last fight against Gegard Mousasi, landing a spectacular spinning kick right on the chin of his opponent before finishing him with a flurry of strikes. Here’s a reminder of how Hall got the better of Mousasi, per the UFC Twitter feed:
It wasn’t a one-off, either. Hall has almost patented this kind of finish since he first burst onto the scene as runner-up on The Ultimate Fighter, knocking out Adam Cella with a similar move. UFC president Dana White described the knockout as “one of the nastiest knockouts I’ve ever seen in the fight business, let alone on The Ultimate Fighter,” per James Matthey and Dan Elsom of news.com.au.
MMA writer Mike Chiappetta isn’t sure how high up Hall can go in the sport, but he definitely enjoys watching him in action:
Indeed, Hall’s brand of fighting means the Melbourne crowd will not be disappointed by his inclusion. He’s someone with a reputation for unorthodox tactics, and as such, his fights are usually aesthetic occasions.
Whittaker will be a very difficult opponent, though. Not only is the Aussie likely to be backed by a raucous home crowd, but he’s also built up plenty of momentum coming into this one, with three wins in his last three bouts, including an impressive knockout of his own against Brad Tavares last time out.
Needless to say, when these two do collide, the Melbourne crowd is likely to witness one of the most exciting fights on what is a card packed full of quality bouts.
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