Uriah Hall Archives - Cageside Press

GFL Announces Uriah Hall vs. Ex-Bellator Champ Douglas Lima

Jay Anderson — Fri, 14 Feb 2025 06:37:41 +0000

The Global Fight League (GFL) announced a pair of fights on Thursday afternoon, and added one more later in the day: a middleweight showdown between UFC veteran Uriah Hall, and former Bellator MMA welterweight champ Douglas Lima.

GFL officials announced the booking via social media, though no date, location, or venue for the fight have been revealed. While the league is expected to launch in April, in an appearance on The Fighter and the Kid podcast on that was posted on Thursday, founder Darren Owen clarified that late April or early May could be in play.

Uriah Hall (17-11) has dabbled in boxing since exiting the UFC in July of 2022, going 1-1 in the sweet science. That run included a win over former NFL’er Le’Veon Bell, and a loss to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. The Lima match-up will mark his return to the cage.

Douglas Lima (33-12) was last seen fighting in a losing effort against Canada’s Aaron Jeffery, under the Bellator Champions Series banner in September. Bellator, purchased by rival PFL over a year ago now, has now ceased operation as a separate brand, with fighters either competing in the PFL, or released.

Lima has just a single win since 2019, a decision against Costello van Steenis. Despite his best days coming at welterweight, he’s no stranger to 185lbs, having fought Gegard Mousasi for Bellator’s middleweight crown in 2020. The van Steenis and Jeffery fights also took place in the middleweight division.

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Uriah Hall Calls Out Jake Paul, Says Le’Veon Bell Is For Real

Eddie Law — Tue, 01 Nov 2022 17:25:25 +0000

Glendale, AZ – Former UFC middleweight contender turned professional boxer Uriah Hall called for a fight with Jake Paul following his victory over Le’Veon Bell at Paul vs. Silva on Saturday night.

Speaking to Cageside Press among other media at his post-fight press conference Hall spoke on his fight with Bell.

“I couldn’t really do what I wanted to do because he was so good at his job. He was awkward with it, he kept jabbing to the body. Of course from his previous fight I was seeing if he was trying to set something up. I trained that style because we practiced it for so long and I was like man just feeling it….was really weird,” Hall said.

“I had to slow down, adjust, and I had the timing. Everything was just timing. That’s why I waited for so long. But man that kid is tough. I give him so much props (for) stepping in here.”

Hall said he saw Bell in the back following the bout and spoke with him.

“He was in the back and of course, that’s a part of the sport that you guys don’t see that I hope you would some day put a report on it. It sucks when you’re back there alone and everything kind of caves in. I’m sure those negative affirmations are going to come in his head, but it’s all about the journey,” said Hall.

“I told him ‘Just keep your head up and it’s a part of the sport.'”

Prior to the fight Hall had revealed that he struggled with some mental health issues and had fallen into a depression and even thought about suicide for a moment.

“(I learned) To surround myself with the right people and that energy is a real thing. I had to feed off the right energy because everyone was saying ‘What are you going to do, what are you going to do?’ and no one was saying ‘Are you ok?’ No one was saying the right stuff, ‘Do you need something?’. It was just surrounding myself with the right people and of course I stopped talking to most of my friends,” he said.

“Some got it, not all of them got it, it was just paying more attention to me. And even that is scary because then you fall deep in that hole. I had to hand pick these people that I want to hang out with and luckily they played a part in getting me back.”

So now that he’s got his first professional boxing win under his belt the question remains as to what is next for ‘Primetime’.

“I definitely think I can take him (Jake Paul). I mean he has an awkward style, I was watching him. It’s almost like it’s hard to hit him the way he stands a certain way and he throws these awkward punches. I definitely think that I could give him a challenge,” Hall said.

“I’ll come at him. He’ll hit me, but I’ll come at him.”

Watch the entire post-fight press conference with Uriah Hall above.

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Uriah Hall Calls Out Jake Paul Following Decision Win Over NFL’er Le’Veon Bell

Jay Anderson — Sun, 30 Oct 2022 02:40:12 +0000

It was mission accomplished for Uriah Hall on the Jake Paul-Anderson Silva undercard on Saturday night.

Fighting on the same card as the man he retired from MMA (at least for now), Silva, “Prime Time” Hall was rather curiously paired up with former NFL star Le’Veon Bell as part of the Pay-Per-View card.

While it was Hall’s boxing debut, decades of combat sports experience and a 17-11 record in mixed martial arts made the match-up rather lopsided, and it played out that way. Hall continually pressed forward, and while he lacked traditional boxing footwork, his punches found their mark, while nothing Bell landed — and he did land a number of blows of his own — seemed to phase Hall.

At least not on the surface. Following a unanimous decision victory with a trio of 40-36 scores, Hall admitted that Bell had hurt him once or twice. He offered supportive words for the 30-year old running back, suggesting he had a future in the sport if he chose to pursue it.

Hall, meanwhile, signaled his intent to carry on in the sweet science for the time being, and called out the night’s biggest star, Jake Paul. “I want Jake Paul. I want his frosty ass,” Hall exclaimed, before adding that “If Anderson don’t do it, I’m gonna be the one to f*ck you up.”

Paul has become a sizeable cash cow for would-be boxers, and his history of selecting past-their-prime mixed martial artists makes the opportunity an alluring one for a fighter like Hall — who at 38 would be among the younger of the Youtube star’s opponents.

Of course, even should Paul get past Anderson Silva on Saturday night, there’s also a sizeable payday against Nate Diaz waiting in the wings. Diaz, another former UFC star, is vastly undersized in comparison to Hall, and a far bigger draw in the end.

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Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva Weigh-In Results

Eddie Law — Fri, 28 Oct 2022 15:42:31 +0000

Glendale, AZ — Finally we’ve arrived to Fight Night-Eve of the Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva PPV where ‘The Problem Child’ and ‘The Spider’ will put gloves to faces in the ring.

Silva will enter the ring for the fourth time since wrapping up his MMA career (for now, anyway). At age 47, he’ll have over two decades of experience over the 25-year old Paul, who will for his part likely have an edge in speed and power.

Also featured on Saturday’s card, the man who retired Silva from the UFC, Uriah Hall, was paired up with NFL veteran Le’Veon Bell.

The first part of the fight is of course the weight cut. Official results for the PPV card are listed below:

Main Event: Jake Paul (186.5) vs. Anderson Silva (186.1) – 185 Pound Catchweight

Ashton Sylve (132.4) vs. Braulio Rodriguez (132.5) – Bantamweight

Alexandro Santiago (117.9) vs. Antonio Nieves (117.8) – Cruiserweight

Uriah Hall (198.6) vs. Le’Veon Bell (197.6) – Super Featherweight

Chris Avila (183.3) vs. Dr. Mike Varshavski (182.6) – Cruiserweight

Jeremiah Milton (248.2) vs. Quintin Sumpter (219.6) – Heavyweight

Ogleidis Suarez (168.9) vs. Shadasia Green (169.2) – Super Middleweight

Danny Barrios Flores (122.5) vs. Edgar Ortiz Jr (120.2) – Super Bantamweight

Adrian Rodriguez (123) vs. Dominique Griffin (122.3) – Super Bantamweight

Eleizer Silva (155.7) vs. Anthony Hannah (162.7) – Super Welterweight

The PPV goes down October 29th at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, AZ

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Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva Open Workouts: A Show From Start To Finish

Eddie Law — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 18:20:25 +0000

Glendale, AZ – There are many things you can call a Jake Paul fight week, but boring isn’t one of them. On Wednesday afternoon the Paul vs. Silva Open Workouts were held at Westgate Entertainment Districts just steps from where the fights will actually go down.

Fighters such as Adrian “Suavecito” Rodriguez and Danny Barrios Flores worked out for the crowd early on in the day. Both Rodriguez and Flores, who aren’t fighting each other, worked out for about 20 minutes.

Then came Chris Avila, a teammate of Nate Diaz and member of the Nick Diaz Academy team, to workout for the crowd.

Following the workout Diaz went off to the crowd to sign autographs and take pictures.

His opponent Dr. Mike Varshavski came in to do a light warm up, but spent a lot of time with the media and fans in the crowd.

Former NFL pro bowl running back Le’Veon Bell came in next and put in some work on the pads and in the ring before going off to meet with many media outlets and fans.

Former UFC middleweight contender Uriah Hall was up next for the crowd. Hall and Bell will be the co-main event of the evening on Saturday night.

Finally the headliners showed up with former UFC middleweight champion and MMA legend Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva entering the ring. Silva showed off his speed, footwork and more while moving around and hitting pads.

Then Jake Paul made his entrance….and by that we mean he made an entrance. Paul rode in on horseback trailed by two giant robots.

Paul warmed up, hit mitts, and then went off to do the media and crowd runs.

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Uriah Hall Reveals Battle With Depression, Suicidal Thoughts

Eddie Law — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 17:33:56 +0000

Glendale, AZ – Former UFC middleweight contender Uriah Hall will make his professional boxing debut on Saturday night at the Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva event. The journey to this spot, however, came with some very serious challenges.

Speaking to Cageside Press, among other media at the Paul vs. Silva open workouts on Wednesday, Hall revealed his battle with depression following his retirement from MMA.

“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

“People don’t see that when you walk outside you’re like, Wait, there’s nothing else for me to do?”

After 19 fights with the UFC, which included getting to the finals at The Ultimate Fighter Season 17, he walked away from the sport he trained in for over 20 years in August.

“I spent 20 years of my life committing myself, my soul to one attribute, and then all of the 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,” he said.

It got so bad for Hall that he contemplated suicide.

“When I say I felt depressed, I even at one point looked at my firearm. 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,” said Hall.

“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.”

Late actor and comedian Robin Williams came to mind when Hall described how odd it was for someone who seemed to have it all to want to end it.

“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. 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 like, ‘What the f*ck!’,” he said.

Luckily for Hall he was able to get out of the darkness and into the light with this move to boxing.

“It was really dark and I’m just so happy to get out of that. I encourage people, I know it’s hard to even talk about it or talk to someone about it, but I know activeness does something,” Hall said.

“Literally, by me just getting up and just walking outside, it helped my mentality.”

Hall takes on Le’Veon Bell in the co-main event of Paul vs. Silva on October 29th at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, AZ.

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Uriah Hall To Face Le’Veon Bell In Pro Boxing Match At Paul-Silva Card On Oct.29

Eddie Law — Thu, 06 Oct 2022 16:46:14 +0000

Glendale, AZ – Fresh off his retirement from MMA former UFC middleweight Uriah Hall make his pro boxing debut when he takes on former NFL pro bowl running back Le’Veon Bell. The two will box on the undercard of Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva in Arizona on October 29th.

Most Valuable Promotions made the announcement on Twitter.

“NFL star running back Le’Veon Bell & elite UFC striker Uriah Hall will face off as part of the MVP SHOWTIME PPV event headlined by Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva,” MVP wrote in its statement. “Bell and Hall will be making their pro boxing debuts in a 4 round cruiserweight bout contracted at 195lbs.”

Hall (17-11 MMA) retired following his loss to Andre Muniz at UFC 276 in July. The striker holds knockouts in MMA over big names including one of the headliners. Hall defeated Silva via TKO in Oct 2020.

Bell is coming off an exhibition victory over fellow former NFL pro bowler Adrian Peterson in September.

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UFC Vegas 59: Michal Oleksiejczuk Wants Stand Up Fight With Uriah Hall

Alex Behunin and Eddie Law — Sun, 07 Aug 2022 17:28:10 +0000

Las Vegas, NV – After scoring the first round TKO of Sam Alvey at UFC Vegas 59 on Saturday night middleweight Michal Oleksiejczuk knows what he wants next.

“I would like to fight this year (again) for sure. I would like to be against Uriah Hall. That would be a nice fight to watch,” Oleksiejczuk told Cageside Press among other media through a translator at his post-fight media scrum.

“I want to fight him because I want to fight standing, and he will be fighting standing. I want to have my fights exciting and good and fun to watch for the people. That’s what it’s all about. That’s what people are looking for. So that’ll be a very nice matchup for a striking fight.”

On Saturday night he defeated Alvey who has been on a losing skid having not won a fight since 2018. “Smile’n” Sam is still a fan favorite regardless of his record.

“I was ready for a very tough battle. Sam Alvey is veteran of the UFC, veteran of the sport. He had many battles inside the octagon so I was prepared for the same today,” Oleksiejczuk said.

“I’m very glad the finish was kind of flashy so I’m very happy about that. Most of all I’m happy that the finish came so quickly because it’s not easy to do.”

Having been in the UFC since 2017 Oleksiejczuk has had an up-and-down tenure in the promotion, but has shown vast improvement in his game.

“I made huge progress going into this fight. I’m a well-rounded fighter now. I used to be a striker only now I can rely on my striking abilities, but I showed today also that I’m good in wrestling defense, I don’t panic when I’m on the ground, I can fight in every area every aspect of the game,” said Oleksiejczuk.

Watch the full UFC Vegas 59 post-fight press scrum with Michal Oleksiejczuk above.

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UFC 276: Andre Muniz Feels He’s Two Fights Away From Title Shot

Gabriel Gonzalez and Eddie Law — Sun, 03 Jul 2022 15:16:37 +0000

Las Vegas, NV – There wasn’t the devastating submission that we expected out of UFC middleweight Andre Muniz, but he went 15 minutes with Uriah Hall to earn the victory at UFC 276 on Saturday night.

“Tough fight, tough opponent. All I have to do is just thank God the UFC for giving me the opportunity to be in a fight like this on such an important week on my way to a title,” Muniz told Cageside Press among other media through a translator at his post-fight scrum.

Muniz (23-4) was expected to be the first man to submit Hall in the latter’s professional career. Hall turned out to be much tougher to submit than anybody expected, but Muniz wasn’t surprised.

“(Hall’s) a tough opponent. Obviously understand how tough he is. He studied my game and he was ready to game plan. When I get to this level I actually have to expect the competition to be tougher and tougher, and I have to evolve as an athlete to get that submission in the future,” Muniz said.

“I heard once that the first round is where you get technical. The second round is where you get into your conditioning. The third round is all heart. What I feel after these rounds is that I am better than yesterday. All I have to do is continue to improve upon this and to get better at it to become a better athlete,” said Muniz.

With plenty of middleweight action on the card, including the title on the line in the main event, Muniz’s performance brought a lot of support on social media for him to get into the title picture sooner than later.

“If Alex beats Strickland today then I have the second longest consecutive win streak in the division, and I do feel that obviously whatever happens there,” Muniz said of the title picture.

“I think that maximum two fights I should have this shot at the title.”

Watch the full UFC 276 post-fight press scrum with Andre Muniz above.

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UFC 276: Andre Muniz Smothers Uriah Hall, Enters Top Ten

Dan Doherty — Sun, 03 Jul 2022 00:04:23 +0000

Andre Muniz only needed three takedowns to dominate Uriah Hall at UFC 276, staying undefeated in the Octagon.

Classic striker versus grappler. That was the match-up that awaited when Uriah Hall, known for his deadly hands (not to mention kicking ability) met Andre Muniz at UFC 276 on Saturday.

Not that long ago, Muniz had snapped the arm of the fearsome Jacare Souza. Meaning Hall did not want to end up stuck on the ground with the Brazilian, any more than Muniz wanted a stand-up war with “Prime Time.”

Muniz opened the fight with left high kick that Hall parried away. Muniz then had the first successful strike of the fight with a body kick. A head kick landed clean for Muniz and Hall fired a combination to back Muniz away. The kicks of Muniz continued to land with a low kick sending Hall off balance. Muniz then blitzed in with a punching combination and took Hall down quickly. Muniz was in side control briefly before Hall was able to regain guard. Muniz passed to half guard, then entered mount. Muniz looked for a mounted triangle, but Hall used the window to escape and get to his feet. Muniz hung on and dragged him down, taking the back of Hall. Several armbar attempts and choke attempts were thwarted by Hall as he survived to the first bell.

High kicks were traded to start the second round as Muniz backed Hall to the fence. A two-punch combination landed for Muniz as he attempted a takedown that Hall defended. Hall was able to defend a second takedown, but Muniz was relentless and landed a trip. Quickly, Muniz went from guard to full mount. Muniz sprinkled ground and pound and was able to take the back of Hall. Muniz went for an armbar from the back, Hall slipped out and landed heavy ground and pound to end the round.

Muniz started the third round with a head kick and a slick left hand. A right hand went into Muniz’s first takedown effort, a single-leg that was successful. Muniz went to half guard, then Hall exposed his back and Muniz took full advantage. He got both hooks in and rode out the round until Hall spun out with 10 seconds left, ending the fight in top position. It was dominance otherwise for Andre Muniz.

Andre Muniz def. Uriah Hall by Unanimous Decision (30-27 x3)

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