Tag: Uriah Hall

Report: Uriah Hall Fainted In ‘Scary’ Scene Prior To UFC St. Louis Weigh-Ins

Hours after the MMA world was hit with the unfortunate news that middleweight champion Robert Whittaker was forced out of his main event bout with Luke Rockhold, another high-profile bout was scrapped when news broke Uriah Hall had been forced out of his co-main event bout against Vitor Belfort at tomorrow’s UFC St. Louis. The […]

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Hours after the MMA world was hit with the unfortunate news that middleweight champion Robert Whittaker was forced out of his main event bout with Luke Rockhold, another high-profile bout was scrapped when news broke Uriah Hall had been forced out of his co-main event bout against Vitor Belfort at tomorrow’s UFC St. Louis.

The bout was to be MMA legend Belfort’s retirement fight and understandably elicited an emotional response from the former UFC champion where he wished Hall a fast recovery. It was unknown just what caused the veteran striking specialist to not show up for weigh-ins, but details soon emerged clarifying a harrowing scene before “Primetime” stepped on the scale.

Ariel Helwani tweeted that Hall reportedly fainted on his way to weighing in even though he was on weight. That would obviously be scary enough, but the belief was that he also suffered a seizure as well:

It’s a highly concerning set of circumstances for the veteran middleweight, one that will certainly – and justifiably – further the controversy over extreme weight-cutting practices in the UFC and MMA as a whole.

“The Phenom” will need a new foe for his retirement bout, but more importantly, Hall’s health will need to be cleared before he can return to the octagon.

Is it time for the UFC to do something about all the bout cancellations due to weight cutting? Is there really anything they can do?

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Breaking: Vitor Belfort vs. Uriah Hall Off UFC St. Louis Card

Uriah Hall and Vitor Belfort will no longer be competing tomorrow night (Jan. 14). Hall and Belfort were set to do battle inside the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The middleweight tilt was going to headline UFC Fight Night 124. Plans changed…

Uriah Hall and Vitor Belfort will no longer be competing tomorrow night (Jan. 14). Hall and Belfort were set to do battle inside the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The middleweight tilt was going to headline UFC Fight Night 124. Plans changed when Hall was forced off the card. After Belfort tipped the scales […]

UFC Fight Night 124 Predictions: Bleacher Report Main Card Staff Picks

It’s a new year and the slate is clean. The UFC heads to St. Louis to kick off the calendar with a featherweight clash headlining the bill at UFC Fight Night 124 in the Scottrade Center.
Contenders Jeremy Stephens and Doo Ho Choi will look to try to ig…

It’s a new year and the slate is clean. The UFC heads to St. Louis to kick off the calendar with a featherweight clash headlining the bill at UFC Fight Night 124 in the Scottrade Center.

Contenders Jeremy Stephens and Doo Ho Choi will look to try to ignite fireworks in the evening’s main event. It will be Choi’s first fight back since his loss in the 2016 Fight of the Year contender against Cub Swanson.

In the co-main event, MMA legend Vitor Belfort makes one final trip to the cage. Standing opposite him will be the dynamic Uriah Hall.

Who walks out of the cage with a win under their belt for the remaining months of the new year?

The Bleacher Report team is back. Steven Rondina, Scott Harris, Craig Amos and Nathan McCarter take a look at the four-fight main card to offer prognostications of the UFC’s first event of 2018.

Let’s jump in and see what the expert picks are for UFC Fight Night 124.

Begin Slideshow

UFC Fight Night 124 – Uriah Hall Vs. Vitor Belfort Predictions

UFC Fight Night 124 is scheduled to take place at the Scottrade Center this Sunday and it will feature Uriah Hall as he comes up against Vitor Belfort. Hall currently has a record of 14 – 8, and over three fourths of his victories have come via knockouts. His most recent fight was a victory […]

UFC Fight Night 124 is scheduled to take place at the Scottrade Center this Sunday and it will feature Uriah Hall as he comes up against Vitor Belfort. Hall currently has a record of 14 – 8, and over three fourths of his victories have come via knockouts. His most recent fight was a victory against Krzysztof Jotko in September. He was looking down and out after three straight defeats, but then he came back strong and snatched a knockout victory in a fight that was then credited as the fight of the night.

He has not tasted consecutive victories since 2015, and will be hungry for a win against Belfort. This will be Hall’s debut fight in Missouri. He is not only a great striker, but can be a deadly force on the ground too, given that he has a ground and pound attack which is no laughing matter.

Belfort, on the other hand, is no slouch himself, he has a record of 26 – 13 coming into this fight, and certainly has more fights under his belt that his opponent. Like Hall, Belfort also wins most of his fights via knockouts. His most recent fight was a victory against Nate Marquardt. Like Hall, Belfort has not had the glory of back to back victories in a very long time and will be looking to make this fight count in his favor.

In terms of a prediction, we will side with the Belfort to win this fight.

UFC Fight Night 124 Preview: 3 Can’t-Miss Fights

Tucked between two sizable pay-per-view cards is UFC Fight Night 124, going down Sunday from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
It’s customary to seek the good in a UFC card, particularly those that may otherwise be overlooked. In this instance, this 1…

Tucked between two sizable pay-per-view cards is UFC Fight Night 124, going down Sunday from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.

It’s customary to seek the good in a UFC card, particularly those that may otherwise be overlooked. In this instance, this 13-fight slate is a bit of a slog, particularly the five contests scheduled for UFC Fight Pass.

That said, the main card and much of the televised undercard is pretty spicy, with a real thunderbolt of a main event. Here’s a look at three of the fights you can’t miss on Sunday’s lineup.

       

Featherweight

Dooho Choi (14-2) vs. Jeremy Stephens (26-14)

Odds courtesy of OddsShark: Choi -160, Stephens +140

Airs on: Fox Sports 1

They can’t all be curveballs, you know. Choi and Stephens make for a terrific main event that seems likely to end violently. 

Fans are still recovering from Choi’s 2016 epic with Cub Swanson, but the Korean Superboy has plenty of action-fighting pedigree tracing back to his early days on the Asian circuits. He’s 26 years old but looks 13, adding some delightful cognitive dissonance to those crushing punch combinations.

Stephens has been a staple of the UFC lightweight and featherweight stables for more than a decade. His first UFC opponent? Din Thomas. Sixteen career knockouts speak to how he gets most of his wins.

Both of these guys not only go for knockouts but tend to use their fists. The battleworn 31-year-old Stephens has lost steam of late, struggling for consistency in his last few bouts. His last fight was a win, but it was over an even more worn-looking Gilbert Melendez. 

Soak up the Superboy while you can, as he will soon begin the military service that is mandatory in his native South Korea.

        

Middleweight

Uriah Hall (13-8) vs. Vitor Belfort (26-13)

Odds: Hall -325, Belfort +265

Airs on: Fox Sports 1

Even before Belfort announced his retirement after this fight, the co-main event was still plum MMA viewing.

Hall is inconsistent and enigmatic as a fighter. For every highlight-reel knockout that sends fans to their feet, a basic lapse of grappling or overall fight IQ sends them to the bottle. After three straight losses, though, a bonus-winning knockout of Krzysztof Jotko got him back on the sunny side of the street.

The New Yorker has a winnable fight here against the 40-year-old Belfort. He suffered a serious string of setbacks over the past couple of years, only to rebound last year against Nate Marquardt, who is now retired.

Belfort was a great fighter in his prime, but his game relied on hand speed and preternatural power. Those things fade with age. We’ll see if he can summon the fountain of youth in one last performance.

      

Featherweight

Darren Elkins (23-5) vs. Michael Johnson (17-12)

Odds: Johnson -155, Elkins +135

Airs on: Fox Sports 1

Elkins was long considered a consummate journeyman. When he won, it was often ugly and involved a split decision. That was not the case last March over Mirsad Bektic in a knockout that can be counted among the greatest comeback wins in UFC history. All he did since then was beat Dennis Bermudez. By split decision, of course. It ran his winning streak to five.

He gets a big step up against Johnson, who has dropped four of five—but did so against the elite of the lightweight division. Here, he tries his luck at 145 pounds. We’ll see if the steeper weight cut made an impact on his power or stamina. Even more so, we’ll see if Elkins’ pressure can punch his ticket to contender status.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Fight Night 124 Preview: 3 Can’t-Miss Fights

Tucked between two sizable pay-per-view cards is UFC Fight Night 124, going down Sunday from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
It’s customary to seek the good in a UFC card, particularly those that may otherwise be overlooked. In this instance, this 1…

Tucked between two sizable pay-per-view cards is UFC Fight Night 124, going down Sunday from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.

It’s customary to seek the good in a UFC card, particularly those that may otherwise be overlooked. In this instance, this 13-fight slate is a bit of a slog, particularly the five contests scheduled for UFC Fight Pass.

That said, the main card and much of the televised undercard is pretty spicy, with a real thunderbolt of a main event. Here’s a look at three of the fights you can’t miss on Sunday’s lineup.

       

Featherweight

Dooho Choi (14-2) vs. Jeremy Stephens (26-14)

Odds courtesy of OddsShark: Choi -160, Stephens +140

Airs on: Fox Sports 1

They can’t all be curveballs, you know. Choi and Stephens make for a terrific main event that seems likely to end violently. 

Fans are still recovering from Choi’s 2016 epic with Cub Swanson, but the Korean Superboy has plenty of action-fighting pedigree tracing back to his early days on the Asian circuits. He’s 26 years old but looks 13, adding some delightful cognitive dissonance to those crushing punch combinations.

Stephens has been a staple of the UFC lightweight and featherweight stables for more than a decade. His first UFC opponent? Din Thomas. Sixteen career knockouts speak to how he gets most of his wins.

Both of these guys not only go for knockouts but tend to use their fists. The battleworn 31-year-old Stephens has lost steam of late, struggling for consistency in his last few bouts. His last fight was a win, but it was over an even more worn-looking Gilbert Melendez. 

Soak up the Superboy while you can, as he will soon begin the military service that is mandatory in his native South Korea.

        

Middleweight

Uriah Hall (13-8) vs. Vitor Belfort (26-13)

Odds: Hall -325, Belfort +265

Airs on: Fox Sports 1

Even before Belfort announced his retirement after this fight, the co-main event was still plum MMA viewing.

Hall is inconsistent and enigmatic as a fighter. For every highlight-reel knockout that sends fans to their feet, a basic lapse of grappling or overall fight IQ sends them to the bottle. After three straight losses, though, a bonus-winning knockout of Krzysztof Jotko got him back on the sunny side of the street.

The New Yorker has a winnable fight here against the 40-year-old Belfort. He suffered a serious string of setbacks over the past couple of years, only to rebound last year against Nate Marquardt, who is now retired.

Belfort was a great fighter in his prime, but his game relied on hand speed and preternatural power. Those things fade with age. We’ll see if he can summon the fountain of youth in one last performance.

      

Featherweight

Darren Elkins (23-5) vs. Michael Johnson (17-12)

Odds: Johnson -155, Elkins +135

Airs on: Fox Sports 1

Elkins was long considered a consummate journeyman. When he won, it was often ugly and involved a split decision. That was not the case last March over Mirsad Bektic in a knockout that can be counted among the greatest comeback wins in UFC history. All he did since then was beat Dennis Bermudez. By split decision, of course. It ran his winning streak to five.

He gets a big step up against Johnson, who has dropped four of five—but did so against the elite of the lightweight division. Here, he tries his luck at 145 pounds. We’ll see if the steeper weight cut made an impact on his power or stamina. Even more so, we’ll see if Elkins’ pressure can punch his ticket to contender status.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com