For the fourth time in the last four months, Ian McCall was left without a fight.
This time, though, it was McCall’s fault, as “Uncle Creepy” was deemed unfit to compete and did not weigh-in for his flyweight fight with Neil Seery Saturday at UFC Fight Night 99.
Gegard Mousasi and Uriah Hall each successfully weighed in, making their main event on UFC Fight Pass official.
The ceremonial face-off weigh-ins will stream live at 1 p.m. ET.
Complete weigh-in results can be found below:
MAIN CARD (UFC Fight Pass/4 p.m. ET)
Uriah Hall (185) vs. Gegard Mousasi (184)
Ross Pearson (156) vs. Steven Ray (155)
Timothy Johnson (264) vs. Alexander Volkov (249)
Teruto Ishihara (146) vs. Artem Lobov (144)
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass/12:15 p.m. ET)
Ian McCall (n/a) vs. Neil Seery (126)
Magnus Cedenblad (185) vs. Jack Marshman (184)
Ali Bagautinov (126) vs. Kyoji Horiguchi (125)
Kevin Lee (155) vs. Magomed Mustafaev (156)
Amanda Cooper (116) vs. Anna Elmose (116)
Mark Godbeer (238) vs. Justin Ledet (240)
Zak Cummings (172.8) vs. Alexander Yakovlev (171)
Milana Dudieva (135) vs. Marion Reneau (135)
Brett Johns (136) vs. Kwan Ho Kwak (136)
Abdul Razak Alhassan (170) vs. Charlie Ward (169)
– McCall did not weigh in; fight with Seery scrapped due to illness
– Cummings missed weight by 1.8 pounds; fined 20 percent of purse, which goes to Yakovlev
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELPrtBdZhEQ
For the fourth time in the last four months, Ian McCall was left without a fight.
This time, though, it was McCall’s fault, as “Uncle Creepy” was deemed unfit to compete and did not weigh-in for his flyweight fight with Neil Seery Saturday at UFC Fight Night 99.
Gegard Mousasi and Uriah Hall each successfully weighed in, making their main event on UFC Fight Pass official.
The ceremonial face-off weigh-ins will stream live at 1 p.m. ET.
Complete weigh-in results can be found below:
MAIN CARD (UFC Fight Pass/4 p.m. ET)
Uriah Hall (185) vs. Gegard Mousasi (184)
Ross Pearson (156) vs. Steven Ray (155)
Timothy Johnson (264) vs. Alexander Volkov (249)
Teruto Ishihara (146) vs. Artem Lobov (144)
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass/12:15 p.m. ET)
Ian McCall (n/a) vs. Neil Seery (126)
Magnus Cedenblad (185) vs. Jack Marshman (184)
Ali Bagautinov (126) vs. Kyoji Horiguchi (125)
Kevin Lee (155) vs. Magomed Mustafaev (156)
Amanda Cooper (116) vs. Anna Elmose (116)
Mark Godbeer (238) vs. Justin Ledet (240)
Zak Cummings (172.8) vs. Alexander Yakovlev (171)
Milana Dudieva (135) vs. Marion Reneau (135)
Brett Johns (136) vs. Kwan Ho Kwak (136)
Abdul Razak Alhassan (170) vs. Charlie Ward (169)
– McCall did not weigh in; fight with Seery scrapped due to illness
– Cummings missed weight by 1.8 pounds; fined 20 percent of purse, which goes to Yakovlev
Uriah Hall was hoping his win over Gegard Mousasi last year would jump-start him to a future UFC middleweight title shot.
Instead, the former Ultimate Fighter runner-up has dropped two straight ahead of his rematch Saturday with Mousasi at UFC Fight Night 99.
Following the win over Mousasi via knockout, Hall (12-7) dropped a decision to Robert Whittaker and was finished by Derek Brunson this past September.
And while many question if Hall just got “lucky” when he landed his KO-shot on Mousasi, the 32-year-old isn’t letting that bother him.
“There are two reasons why Gegard picked me; one, he think it’s an easy fight, which he thought the first time, and two, he wants revenge,” Hall said. “I’m a different breed. I’m dynamic, I’m patient and I’m articulate. I pick my shots. He’s trying to come in here and prove a point, and I’m saying no, that kick was real.”
UFC Fight Night 99 airs live on UFC Fight Pass from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Mousasi vs. Hall is the main event.
Uriah Hall was hoping his win over Gegard Mousasi last year would jump-start him to a future UFC middleweight title shot.
Instead, the former Ultimate Fighter runner-up has dropped two straight ahead of his rematch Saturday with Mousasi at UFC Fight Night 99.
Following the win over Mousasi via knockout, Hall (12-7) dropped a decision to Robert Whittaker and was finished by Derek Brunson this past September.
And while many question if Hall just got “lucky” when he landed his KO-shot on Mousasi, the 32-year-old isn’t letting that bother him.
“There are two reasons why Gegard picked me; one, he think it’s an easy fight, which he thought the first time, and two, he wants revenge,” Hall said. “I’m a different breed. I’m dynamic, I’m patient and I’m articulate. I pick my shots. He’s trying to come in here and prove a point, and I’m saying no, that kick was real.”
UFC Fight Night 99 airs live on UFC Fight Pass from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Mousasi vs. Hall is the main event.
UFC 205 is in the books, but there is no rest for MMA fans in sight. Following the blockbuster card and an intense weekend of coverage from all manner of media outlets, we’re back at it with a full slate of 25 fights spanning two continents. Neither offering will be confused with the grandest event
UFC 205 is in the books, but there is no rest for MMA fans in sight. Following the blockbuster card and an intense weekend of coverage from all manner of media outlets, we’re back at it with a full slate of 25 fights spanning two continents.
Neither offering will be confused with the grandest event in promotion history, but there are fun fights and intriguing fighters spanning both cards. The European slate features the incomparable Teruto Ishihara, the oft-delayed return of wild man Ian McCall, and the UFC debut of former Bellator heavyweight champ Alexander Volkov.
The weekend gets kicked off in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and is headlined by a middleweight rematch between Gegard Mousasi and Uriah Hall. Hall will be looking to get back on track and replicate his stunning victory over the Belgian.
Read on for the breakdown of the main event of UFC Belfast.
Per Haljestam for USA TODAY Sports
Middleweights Gegard Mousasi vs. Uriah Hall
First of all, this is puzzling matchmaking. Since their first encounter 14 months ago, Mousasi has re-established himself as a borderline title contender, even in the deep and rejuvenated middleweight division. He has beaten Thales Leites, Thiago Santos, and Vitor Belfort, finishing the latter two and making it look easy.
Hall, meanwhile, has dropped his two bouts since topping ‘The Dreamcatcher,’ falling to Robert Whittaker by decision and suffering a knockout to the surging Derek Brunson. Usually, the UFC likes to pit winners against winners and fighters coming off losses against one another.
Next, the first fight was a tremendous victory for the uber-dynamic Hall, but he is essentially being asked to make lightning strike twice. It does not seem remotely repeatable. Mousasi dominated the opening round with pressure and top control. As he looked to resume his assault in round two, it took a jumping spinning back kick to the face, followed immediately by a flush flying knee, followed by a barrage of punches to finish Mousasi.
Even for a gifted and flashy striker like Hall, doing something like that again is out of the question.
Mousasi’s clearest path to victory lies in replicating the first round for another five minutes. Deny Hall the space he needs to uncork his flashy kicks, take him down, and generally make life miserable for him with ground and pound and positional advancements. The Dutchman is no slouch in the stand-up department either. He is defensively responsible while also being dangerous at all ranges with punches, kicks, and knees.
As already mentioned, Hall is offensively potent, particularly with his kicks and his ground and pound. Although he is improving in these areas, he has a bad habit of going through periods of inactivity and backing himself to the fence. The former tendency cost him in fights with Whittaker and Rafael Natal, and the latter helped lead to his knockout against Brunson. Hall is a bit like fellow middleweight contender Yoel Romero, except being nearly impossible to hold down and lacking the ability to land a knockout shot at any range.
Hall has shown the kind of dynamism and athletic ability that could end the fight at any moment, but even a Hail Mary shot might not be enough against Mousasi. The Dutchman wasn’t even all the way out after two kill shots and a barrage of punches that would have put down a rhino. “The Dreamcatcher’s” well-roundedness, newfound aggression, and grappling chops will be enough to get the job done.
Gegard Mousasi will get his chance at redemption this weekend (Saturday November 19, 2016) in Belfast when he takes on Uriah Hall in the main event of the evening, as ‘Primetime’ handed the Dutchman his only loss on his record in his last six fights. Hall finished Mousasi in the second round of their UFC
Gegard Mousasi will get his chance at redemption this weekend (Saturday November 19, 2016) in Belfast when he takes on Uriah Hall in the main event of the evening, as ‘Primetime’ handed the Dutchman his only loss on his record in his last six fights.
Hall finished Mousasi in the second round of their UFC Fight Night 75 contest in Japan last year with a highlight reel jumping spinning back kick, followed by a flying knee and some strikes for good measure. Mousasi has since called the loss a fluke and is eager to get back in the cage with the former Ultimate Fighter finalist to prove so.
Mousasi recently spoke with FOX Sports to discuss the upcoming rematch, giving all props due to Hall for finishing him their first time out, but admits he is seeking revenge:
“He won fair and square. I’m not going to take anything away from him. I respect him for giving me the rematch. It’s a fight, anything can happen. Anything can happen in this fight, but I’m not going to go be too aggressive, over committing, I believe nothing will go wrong this time. I have something to put straight,” Mousasi said. “Not so much against Uriah Hall but you have people who are sitting and just waiting for you to fail so they can have a laugh. So it’s more to set straight something with the idiots who don’t know anything about the sport.
“I’ve got nothing against him. He’s probably a nice guy but I want my revenge. It’s more personal but not against Uriah Hall. It’s against people that thought that he’s the better fighter.”
While Mousasi doesn’t believe he has anything to gain with a potential win over Hall, he admits the contest is a little more personal than anything as he believes he could be fighting for the title straight away rather than sharing the Octagon with ‘Primetime’:
“It’s something more personal. I’ve got nothing to gain, it’s a risky fight for me actually because I’m fighting Uriah Hall,” Mousasi said. “I could go fight somebody in the top four and go fight for the title right away. So I’m going to take two fights to get to a title shot instead of one guy to get to a title shot. It’s more taking an extra risk just to get even.
“I have to put this right and make everyone know that I’m coming for the title. I’m almost there.”
Mousasi would like to finish the contest with a knockout of his own, however, if the contest does find its way into the championship rounds, the former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion believes that he will carry the advantage after 15 minutes:
“Hopefully a knockout, that’s always more impressive than a decision,” Mousasi said. “He’s tough to submit, he doesn’t give up, but I feel like I will easily dominate and take positions.
“I’m going to take my time. I don’t believe it’s going to go three rounds, but if it goes five rounds, I don’t believe he’s going to look so good. I’m in the mood to fight. I’m in the mood to put my punches in his face.”
‘The Dreamcatcher’ has embarked on a three-fight winning streak since his loss to Hall, earning victories over the likes of Thales Leites, Thiago Santos, and most recently Vitor Belfort. With his second round finish of Belfort last month, Mousasi has been making his claim for a chance at the 185-pound title that is currently held by Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping, but it seems he’ll be looking to extract revenge from Hall in Belfast first.
Mousasi and Hall will meet in the main event of UFC Fight Night 99 live on UFC Fight Pass, from The SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland this Saturday night (November 19, 2016).
Dan Hardy, John Gooden, Brad Pickett and Nick Peet offer up their insight into the main event at UFC Fight Night 99 between Gegard Mousasi and Uriah Hall.
The contest is a rematch of an e…
Dan Hardy, John Gooden, Brad Pickett and Nick Peet offer up their insight into the main event at UFC Fight Night 99 between Gegard Mousasi and Uriah Hall.
The contest is a rematch of an encounter won by Hall via knockout.
Saturday’s card airs entirely on UFC Fight Pass from Northern Ireland.
No. 5-ranked UFC middleweight contender Gegard Mousasi will make a quick turnaround when he rematches Uriah Hall on Nov. 19 in Belfast after just fighting former champion Vitor Belfort at Oct. 8’s UFC 204 in Manchester, England. Mousasi scored an impressive second round knockout over Belfort, but “The Dreamcatcher” feels as if “The Phenom” is
No. 5-ranked UFC middleweight contender Gegard Mousasi will make a quick turnaround when he rematches Uriah Hall on Nov. 19 in Belfast after just fighting former champion Vitor Belfort at Oct. 8’s UFC 204 in Manchester, England.
Mousasi scored an impressive second round knockout over Belfort, but “The Dreamcatcher” feels as if “The Phenom” is a different man now a days. In fact, Mousasi says that Belfort has ‘mental issues’ due to his use infamous use of the now banned testosterone-replacement-therapy (TRT):
“I think with Vitor, he has a lot of mental issues. If you take TRT, that’s testosterone,” he said. “You’re going to be aggressive and be confident. You feel more manly and whatever you feel. I think if he hits you, then he swarms on you with punches and kicks. But, I didn’t give him that chance. He landed one punch in the beginning but with him I think it’s a lot of mental stuff,” Mousasi told Daily Star Sport.
Belfort was a poster boy for TRT use during 2013, a year that saw him score three straight head kick knockouts over the likes of Luke Rockhold, Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson. Since then, however, “The Phenom” has gone just 1-3, losing all three of those bouts by way of stoppage.
Mousasi added that Belfort didn’t feel like the explosive knockout artist he once was:
“He wasn’t the typical Vitor Belfort. But, like I said, TRT it’s not just physical — mentally you’re going to feel different,” he added. “If you look at the mirror (when you’re on TRT) you’re going to feel better. These are factors with him. He came in to fight and he was looking for the opportunity to land that big punch or that kick to finish the fight, but I think he wasn’t very sure of himself.”
Mousasi would like to finish the contest with a knockout of his own, however, if the contest does find its way into the championship rounds, the former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion believes that he will carry the advantage after 15 minutes: