What’s next for Uriah ‘Primetime’ Hall?
For just the second time in his UFC career, Uriah Hall is on a three-fight win streak. We all expected him to go on a serious run right out of the gate, but he’s battled mentality and confidence issues most of his career.
Now, at 36-years-old, ‘Primetime’ Hall finally seems to be putting it all together. He still didn’t look the best on Saturday, he was perhaps a little starstruck, as we expected him to be, but he got the job done and walked away the victor.
The No. 9 ranked UFC middleweight finally got to meet Anderson Silva inside the octagon, something we’ve all been waiting over seven years to see. Everyone wanted to see him fight Silva right after going 4-0 on The Ultimate Fighter, while Silva was still champion.
We didn’t get it then, they were matched up in 2016 at UFC 198, we didn’t get it then either. But finally, it went down at UFC Halloween.
The one thing that’s evident from seeing this fight, as well as quite a few of Hall’s others, he’s a slow starter. A very slow starter. If that was a three-round fight, he may or may not have won that decision. He didn’t really do anything significant until he almost knocked Silva out at the end of round three.
He followed up in round four to get the TKO victory at 1:24 of the round, but there’s something that should be done for Uriah Hall to aid his career.
UFC, give him main event only match ups. Only sign him to five-round fights, he’s a slow starter, but tends to find his range and confidence eventually often times.
His first three losses in the UFC show that, all of which were split decisions. His first Gegard Mousasi fight showed that, his Krzysztof Jotko fight showed that, though they both ended in round two. His Bevon Lewis fight showed that, though he was able to get the finish in round three.
Saturday was no different. Actually, it was, he needed more than three rounds to get the job done. Dana White said he won’t move up much, if at all in the rankings, given his performance and where Silva is at in his career, and we have to agree with him.
However, that doesn’t mean they can’t schedule him in more main events. Hall is one of the most gunshy fighters in the entire world. If he has 25 minutes rather than 15, he has a better chance of winning and finishing the fight.
With all the physical and technical gifts Hall has, and the good humble person he is, we all want to see him go far in this sport. He hasn’t lived up to expectations, maybe if he’s given more of an opportunity, he could.
That brings up the question, what’s next for Uriah ‘Primetime’ Hall? A rematch with the No. 7 ranked Derek Brunson would be cool to see. Brunson has reinvented himself over the course of his last three fights, as has Hall. As mentioned above, they’ve both won three-straight.
Their first fight ended in controversy, as Brunson merely dropped Hall and was awarded the TKO victory. A rematch with the No. 10 ranked Chris Weidman would also be great to see. None of us got to see their first fight, where Weidman TKO’d Hall, taking his Ring of Combat Middleweight Championship away from him.
Hall ended up regaining the title just before coming to the UFC. Weidman’s 2-5 in his last seven after opening his career up with a 13-0 record, and all five defeats come via knockout. He has the wrestling and overall MMA grappling to defeat Hall again, and Hall has the striking ability and thunderous knockout power to defeat Weidman.
The No. 11 ranked Edmen Shahbazyan would also be very entertaining. Two great strikers, two knockout artists, and two prodigies; one of which hasn’t lived up to the hype, and the other of which still needs to, being just 22-years-old, turning 23 on the 20th of this month.
The No. 13 ranked Brad Tavares would be fun to see as well. Tavares is a good, technical striker, but has been knocked out a few times. Hall has shown issues with technical fighters that can keep away from his strikes, but so has Tavares. That’d make a lot of sense to make.
Lastly is a fight with the winner of the No. 13 ranked Marvin Vettori (tied with Tavares at No. 13) and Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza, who’s no longer in the rankings. Hall has been scheduled to face Souza a couple times now, but the fight never went through. If Vettori can defeat Souza, it’d make a great match of for Hall, and likewise if Souza wins.
Or, maybe the UFC can just try to put Hall versus the No. 5 ranked Yoel Romero back together again, which was about as exciting of a fight as you’ll find. They both have devastating knockout power, but they’re completely different in their approach to everything they do.
What’s next for Uriah ‘Primetime’ Hall?
