Uriah Hall reveals he ‘fell into a deep depression,’ contemplated suicide after UFC exit
Uriah Hall retired from MMA following a decision loss to Andre Muniz and after that, he admits he went into a dark place.
Hall had been a UFC contender for years and after his second straight loss, he announced his retirement from the sport. Yet, he quickly ended that as it was revealed he would box former NFL running back Le’Veon Bell as he says the time at home not doing anything put him in a bad spot.
“I was in a weird place. After leaving MMA, man, I fell into a really deep hole. If I could talk about it, I fell into a deep depression. A lot of athletes, when you do something for so long, that’s what you identify as, you know? You’re a football player only or you’re a fighter only,” Hall said at a media scrum. “People don’t see that when you walk outside you’re like, ‘Wait, there’s nothing else for me to do?’ I spent the last 20 years of my life committing myself, my soul to one attribute, and then all of a sudden it’s gone, it’s taken away. So, it was some really dark, deep places, and luckily I had the right people around me to support me.”
According to Uriah Hall, he was not looking to get back into fighting, and boxing especially. However, the offer came at the right time as he says he was badly depressed.
“When I say I felt depressed, I even at one point looked at my firearm,” Hall said. “Like, wait a minute, I can go down a really dark path if I don’t get out of this. And people don’t talk about that sh*t. Depression is a real thing, and if you don’t have the right support group, support system, you won’t get out of it, man. If you look at like Robin Williams and all those types of people, you’re like, ‘How the f*ck did you kill yourself?’ I get it. Like, at that moment, I finally f*cking understood. … I sat on my couch for literally a week straight not knowing what to do. I remember opening the door for the first time seeing sunlight, I was like, ‘What the f*ck.’”
Should Hall beat Bell, the hope is he can face Jake Paul next if the YouTuber defeats Anderson Silva.
