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)
Israel Adesanya was at the UFC APEX to watch his idol Anderson Silva take his final bow inside the Octagon against Uriah Hall. While Hall ended Silva’s career on a bittersweet note after winning via fourth-round TKO, Izzy got to bask in the glory of ‘The Spider’ one last time.
Hall’s performance may have underwhelmed many, including Dana White, but Hall feels like he personally left a good impression. In his post-fight media interview, Hall proudly proclaimed that he thinks his performance against Silva was better than Israel Adesanya‘s.
“I know he danced with Anderson, but I was the guy who finished him. I know what people will say about the age factor, which Anderson never believes. He’s the champ, and he did what he had to do to get to where he is. There’s respect. I knew he was out here. My guess is he was either here to see holes in me or potentially give Anderson a rematch. Either way, it’s fine.”
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No disrespect to @Stylebender, but @UriahHallMMA says he did it better against Anderson Silva. 👀#UFCVegas12 | Full interview: https://t.co/b11oP8qUub pic.twitter.com/ghZYYNZnv6
— MMA Junkie (@MMAjunkie) November 1, 2020
Adesanya and Silva fought at UFC 234, where Izzy won a three-round decision before getting an interim title shot against Kelvin Gastelum. Hall finished Silva, but in the fourth round of a fight he should have dominated.
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Israel Adesanya getting called out by Hall
It is odd that Uriah Hall would try to talk up to the champion, especially after a win over a very past-his-prime Anderson Silva. Hall has a lot more to prove in the division before he can be in talks for a title shot. There are a lot of fighters still ahead of him. He may feel his performance was better than Izzy, but there is nothing good that can come out of that comparison.
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Adesanya and Silva put on a show when they were fighting. However, Hall seemed pretty intent on bringing a fight. Despite facing a 45-year-old, Hall lost the first round on all three judges’ scorecards. Hall was losing the fight heading into the fourth round in one judges’ book. If there is anything you can use to compare, that is a good place to start.
Adesanya will be leaving the division in limbo as he prepares to fight Jan Blachowicz for the Light Heavyweight Championship. Hall is bound to get some higher-ranked opponents to see if he has truly found the early promise of his career.
