JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Like many in the fight community and beyond, Uriah Hall faced some unforeseen challenges in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
At one point, the struggles of his job as a professional fighter became nearly unbearable. When Hall, a perennial top-of-the-heap UFC middleweight, dipped into his savings account to keep himself afloat amidst multiple cancellations and limited opportunities, he became discouraged.
“My house is in Vegas. I had to go to Dallas,” Hall told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at UFC 261 media day on Wednesday. “I’m paying over there in Vegas. I’m paying over here in Dallas. I remember, at one point, I had to dip into savings. I’m like, ‘I don’t want to stop that momentum.’ So I had to stay in Dallas, Air BnB, rent cars, and all that stuff. I’m like, ‘What am I doing?’ Then, with the fights getting canceled back to back, it was a cluster, man. I can’t tell you how unmotivating it was to be training, not knowing what’s going to happen. The fights were pulling out.”
That’s when Hall (16-9 MMA, 9-7 UFC) picked up the phone and called his coach, Fortis MMA lead man Sayif Saud. The discussion not only provided mental clarity, it instilled the confidence Hall needed to face his fears and refocus.
“The genius thing I did was I didn’t quit,” Hall said. “… I called (coach Saud). I remember I had a broke-down moment. I was like, ‘Hey, man. I can’t do this. I’m checking out.’ He’s like, ‘Son, you’re going to look at this and you’re going to laugh. You’re going to be glad you didn’t quit. Obviously you can’t.’
“With the right people around me, my strength and conditioning coach, we had to hide to train because the cops were like, ‘You’ve got to stay home’ and all that bullsh*t. We locked the gym, lights off, and we trained in the dark and all that stuff. During those times, man, it was a motivator. It built me. I went to a dark place, sat down with some demons, and got to know them. But it’s growing, man.”
On Saturday, Hall rematches former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman (15-5 MMA, 11-5 UFC) on the UFC 261 pay-per-view main card. The two fighters competed against one another at Ring Of Combat 31 in September 2010 before they joined the UFC roster. Weidman won by first-round TKO.
“It’s business,” Hall said. “That’s all it is. Listen, fighting is about whoever is left standing, nothing else. It was a moment in my past. He capitalized on it. He had a different route to get where he is. He became world champ, had a few successes. I had a separate route, as well. I became the ultimate guy in ‘The Ultimate Fighter.’ It’s a story. Somehow, we ended up right kind of where we needed to be.”
UFC 261 takes place Saturday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.
