via Imago
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 31: (R-L) Uriah Hall of Jamaica punches Anderson Silva of Brazil in a middleweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on October 31, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
via Imago
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 31: (R-L) Uriah Hall of Jamaica punches Anderson Silva of Brazil in a middleweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on October 31, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Uriah Hall is coming off a win over middleweight great Anderson Silva. Hall will have a chance to take the momentum forward as his next fight will also be against a former middleweight champion, Chris Weidman.
ESPN’s Ariel Helwani first reported the news about the booking. The fight will reportedly take place on February 13 at UFC 258. However, the fight has only been verbally agreed upon. Hall and Weidman are yet to sign the bout agreement. The fight between the two will be a rematch from their initial booking, which took place ten years ago.
Middleweights Uriah Hall and Chris Weidman have verbally agreed to fight at UFC 258 on Feb. 13, sources tell @arielhelwani.
The bout would be a rematch, with Weidman having earned a TKO against Hall on the regional scene in 2010. pic.twitter.com/ZsOBHmDZdP
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) November 17, 2020
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Hall and Weidman collided under the Ring of Combat banner for the promotional middleweight title. The fight was only the third professional outing for Weidman. He defeated Hall via punches in the very first round. Following the win, the career of the two middleweights followed very different trajectories. Weidman signed a UFC contract shortly after and became the promotion’s 185-pound champ.
He ended the reign of Anderson Silva by handing the Brazilian his first loss in seven years. However, Weidman couldn’t sustain his position at the top of the 185-pounds division. After two successful title defenses, Weidman fell off the top following a number of losses. He even went up a weight class but realized it wasn’t the best decision and hence came down.
He is coming off a win over Omari Akhmedov in August and will look to capitalize on the same.
At 36 years of age, Uriah Hall will eye a steady climb up the divisional rankings
Hall came into the UFC via The Ultimate Fighter. During his time at the show, he earned a name for himself as arguably the most dangerous contender in TUF history. Riding on a streak of dominant wins, Hall reached the finals, only to lose to Kelvin Gastelum.
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Ever since then, Hall has failed to string together a significant win streak in the division. The year 2020 has been particularly frustrating for ‘Prime Time’. His fights with ‘Jacare’ Souza and Yoel Romero fell through. However, he capitalized on the opportunity against Anderson Silva. The win took his consecutive win tally to three.
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The UFC is yet to announce the main event for UFC 258, which should be the second PPV event of 2021. Reportedly, a fight between Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns will also take place on the same card and may serve as the potential headliner.
READ MORE: REPORTS: Kamaru Usman Will Defend His Welterweight Title on February 13
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