Coach Sayif Saud is confident that Uriah Hall would give UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya a run for his money.
Hall (15-9 MMA, 8-7 UFC) previously mentioned that his dream fight would be against Adesanya in a matchup between two of the most dynamic strikers in the sport. And Saud thinks, despite Hall’s early inconsistencies in his career, he’s physically transformed into his best athletic version yet.
“People could say whatever they want about Uriah. He’s had an up-and-down career, (but) look at the guys he’s fought,” Saud told MMA Junkie. “He has fought all of the toughest dudes. Whittaker, Costa, Weidman back in the day – I mean, he’s fought everybody. Mousasi twice. That dude (Hall) has fought some tough competition, so he’s used to fighting the guys at that level.
“But now he’s had this resurgence, and he’s focused. He’s training his ass off, he’s at the gym constantly, staying at the gym (at the time), and I feel like he’s ready, man. He’s mature, and he physically continues to improve in an unbelievable pace because of coach Mike Scaccia, all the strength work and everything else. It’s like physically, the guy is the fastest I’ve ever seen him, the strongest I’ve ever seen him, because he’s dedicated so much time to it.”
Hall has won three of his last four fights and is coming off back-to-back wins over Bevon Lewis and Antonio Carlos Jr. last September. Despite the losses on his resume, Hall has shown moments of brilliance, and Saud thinks he could deliver against Adesanya.
“I just feel like he could do it, and I think he can beat Israel,” Saud said. “I think he’s got way better hands than Israel does, and I think Uriah is dangerous on the feet, but that’s not taking anything away from Israel. Israel is the champ, and he’s the man, and he’s awesome.
“He had a real close fight with Kelvin (Gastelum), which Uriah had a real close fight with Kelvin back in the day, too, so all those guys at middleweight are super dangerous, and I think Uriah could do it. I think because of his speed, his physicality and how he continues to improve all of his already impressive abilities, he’s dangerous.”
But first Hall faces a stern test in jiu-jitsu ace Ronaldo Souza this Saturday at UFC 249, where a win would certainly propel him one step closer to title contention.
Coach marvels at Uriah Hall's improvement, thinks he could beat Israel Adesanya
