I know that I have already given the producers of this season of The Ultimate Fighter some flack for its lack of uniqueness versus previous years; however, one thing I will give this season credit for is that there does appear to have some serious talent on the show. After only a few episodes, some of this talent has already started to rear its head.
One fighter that really stuck in mind when watching the “fight to get into the house” episode was Uriah Hall. In his first match, while he did not win by a finish, Uriah Hall’s command in the octagon surprised me. He had some of the most pinpoint accurate striking that I have seen in the UFC (or any other promotion, excluding maybe K-1), and laid a beating down that was reminiscent of the first time I watched Anderson Silva fight.
His kicks are what is going to get the Jamaican-born fighter the most attention. On last night’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter, Hall threw a kick that put Gabriel Gonzaga’s knock-out of Mirko CroCop to shame. In one swift movement, Hall tossed up a spinning heel kick that laid fellow TUF fighter Adam Cella to the mat. As Dana White put it in the locker room discussion, it’s one of those knock-outs that you want to celebrate, but at the same time you’re so concerned for the other guy that you hold it back. True to that, everyone was silent after Hall’s knock-out out of Cella. If you have not seen this knock-out yet, look it up (you won’t regret it)!
The one chink in the seemingly flawless armour of Hall is that his cardio appears to be something of an issue. In his “fight to get into the house”, while he put on a stunning performance in the first round, he appeared to lose some steam going into the second. In his previous loss to Costas Phillapou in Ring of Combat, Hall lost a decision in what appeared to be a lack of fuel in the tank. In last night’s match-up, we really didn’t have a chance to see his cardio at work, given how short the fight was – so, I’m not clear how much work he has put into correcting this. My guess is that working with a cardio machine like Chael Sonnen will likely help to address this problem, but really only time will tell. Some fighters are stubborn an stuck in their ways; Hall is that type of guy that I could see falling into that category.
Either way, I pretty much guarantee you will see this guy in the UFC after the show is over (that said, I heard a rumour that all of the fighters from this season were awarded contracts). If he doesn’t outright win the show, Dana White will give him special treatment based on this most recent fight alone. This guy goes out to fight, not to win, and puts on a stellar performance while doing it. Winning is just a benefit that comes along the road to victory for this guy. The UFC needs more fighters like this, and I personally look forward to seeing him back in the octagon soon.
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