After UFC 232, there was no more doubting that Ryan Hall is one of the most dangerous men in the featherweight division.
Sure, the competitor who earned his way into the UFC through Season 22 of “The Ultimate Fighter” has one main strength, but he’s able to impose it anytime, anywhere.
Hall’s ground game is world-class. He’s medaled at every major jiu-jitsu competition from the ADCC to the World Jiu-Jitsu Championships.
But it didn’t fully sink in how strong Hall has transitioned his grappling game to the MMA space until he took on another opponent with an impressive mat pedigree: former UFC welterweight and lightweight champion B.J. Penn.
The duo met up at UFC 232 in Inglewood, Calif. And the fight didn’t last long. Hall caught Penn in an absolutely beautiful heel hook out of nowhere, ending the fight at the 2:46 mark of the opening round. That earned Hall a “Performance of the Night” bonus, and many consider it the best submission of 2018, as well.
True, it occurred while Penn was well into a precipitous decline. But it still served notice that Hall is not a competitor to be taken lightly.
Hall remains unbeaten in the UFC through four fights. As we await the announcement of his next fight, the UFC is making his finest moment to date in the cage available to watch for free, which you can see in the video above.
UFC free fight: Relive Ryan Hall's amazing submission of B.J. Penn
