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Check out the MMA Junkie’s Dan Tom’s analysis and predictions for the UFC on ESPN+ 39 main event between Uriah Hall and Anderson Silva.
Check out the MMA Junkie’s Dan Tom’s analysis and predictions for the UFC on ESPN+ 39 main event between Uriah Hall and Anderson Silva.
The best facts and figures about UFC on ESPN+ 39, which features a Uriah Hall vs. Anderson Silva main event.
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The UFC returns from “Fight Island” to its home base Saturday with UFC on ESPN+ 39, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and streams on ESPN+.
Another legendary fighter is set to move on from the octagon in the main event when former longtime UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Anderson Silva[/autotag] (34-10 MMA, 17-6 UFC) competes in his retirement fight against [autotag]Uriah Hall[/autotag] (15-9 MMA, 8-7 UFC).
“The Spider” has put together a UFC Hall of Fame resume over the course of his career. For more on the numbers, check below for 45 pre-event facts about UFC on ESPN+ 39.
Uriah Hall is excited for the opportunity to compete against someone he’s looked up to.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Uriah Hall[/autotag] is excited for the opportunity to compete against someone he’s looked up to.
Hall (15-9 MMA, 8-7 UFC) faces former middleweight champion and certain future UFC Hall of Famer [autotag]Anderson Silva[/autotag] in Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 39 main event.
Silva may not be currently ranked in the top 15 of the middleweight division, but for Hall, a fight with him is a good indicator of how far he’s come in his career.
“It’s one of the biggest fights,” Hall told reporters, including MMA Junkie, during UFC on ESPN+ 39’s virtual media day Wednesday. “Anderson Silva is a legend, so I’m just excited to go out there and go up against a guy that I watched growing up. To me, I made it. That’s how I look at it.
“Personally for me, Anderson has been someone I’ve idolized for years. So to me, that’s a trophy fight. It’s a championship fight to me in my mind. I personally feel like I made it.”
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In an intriguing matchup between two of the most dynamic and creative strikers in the UFC, Hall can understand and appreciate Silva’s style.
“He’s just fluid,” Hall said. “The way he moves and the way he fights, he’s in the moment, and a lot of people don’t really understand that dynamic. That’s why he says he doesn’t care about the whole fighting thing. It’s not about fighting. People can’t understand that concept because it’s the moment when you’re in there of letting go.”
UFC on ESPN+ 39 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The entire card streams on ESPN+.
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Check out some key facts, figures and footnotes for the legend Anderson Silva.
Check out some key facts, figures and footnotes for the legend Anderson Silva.
Uriah Hall is of the opinion that Israel Adesnaya is hand-picking opponents he matches up well against.
[autotag]Uriah Hall[/autotag] doesn’t think UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] is fighting the right guys.
Hall (15-7 MMA, 8-9 UFC) believes Adesanya has been picking certain matchups that favor his style. Hall, who fights Anderson Silva this weekend in the UFC on ESPN+ 39 main event, said he sees what Adesanya is doing.
“Adesnaya is picking his fights, man,” Hall told reporters, including MMA Junkie, during UFC on ESPN+ 39 virtual media day. “He sees what I see. He sees holes in all these guys, and he’s already picking (Jared) Cannonier. He’s looking for easy fights. Yeah, I said it.
“So I know why he’s picking certain fights, but I’m dynamic, especially where I’m at right now. I’m laser focused, so it’s a matter of time. I’m just going to play the politics card and whoever the UFC needs me to beat and get to the top.”
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Hall is currently on a two-fight winning streak and 3-1 in his past four fights. The 36-year-old currently sits at No. 10 in the official UFC middleweight rankings.
“Prime Time” is excited to share the cage this Saturday against one of the biggest stars in UFC history.
“Yeah, this is one of the biggest fights,” Hall said. “Andeson Silva is a legend. I’m just excited to go out there against a guy I watched growing up. To me, I made it. That’s how I look at it.”
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All signs point to former UFC champ Anderson Silva making his final walk to the octagon on Halloween.
All signs point to [autotag]Anderson Silva[/autotag] making his final walk to the octagon on Halloween.
Silva (34-10 MMA, 17-6 UFC) will face [autotag]Uriah Hall[/autotag] in a the main event of UFC’s Oct. 31 fight card, which is expected to take place at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.
It’ll have been 17 months since the former longtime UFC middleweight champion competed by the time he enters the octagon for what he projects could be his swan song from the sport. UFC president Dana White his expressed multiple times that “The Spider” will retire after this fight, win or lose.
Silva would not 100 percent commit, but at 45, he’s aware this could be the last one.
“Maybe this is my last fight,” Silva told ESPN. “That’s why I’m training hard everyday and do my best in my training. My whole team came to help me and everybody stayed in quarantine to start training, and I’m very excited because I think this is my last performance inside the cage for my fans, and we’ll see.”
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Although Silva says a fairytale ending would be for him to recapture the 185-pound title that he once defended 10 consecutive times, he knows that won’t be the case. But in Hall (15-9 MMA, 8-7 UFC), he sees the perfect dancing partner that has him motivated to potentially cap off his storied career in special fashion.
“The good story is Anderson Silva fights again for the belt and win and done, but that’s in the script,” Silva said. “You can’t do this in real life, and I’m excited to continue working, continue doing something special and this fight helped me to create something huge inside my mind, for my fans, for legacy. Especially because I have a story with the UFC. I have a great story inside the cage, in the UFC too.”
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It’s been more than a year since Anderson Silva stepped into a fight, but “The Spider” is set to return, appropriately, on Halloween.
It’s been more than a year since [autotag]Anderson Silva[/autotag] stepped into a fight, but “The Spider” is set to return, perhaps appropriately, on Halloween.
Former longtime UFC middleweight champion Silva (34-10 MMA, 17-6 UFC) will take on [autotag]Uriah Hall[/autotag] (15-9 MMA, 8-7 UFC) on the UFC’s Oct. 31 card. The bout is set to be the main event. A location and venue for the show have not yet been announced by the promotion.
MMA Junkie confirmed the booking with a person with knowledge of the matchup following an initial report by UFC broadcast partner ESPN, which cited UFC president Dana White.
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Silva lost back-to-back fights in 2019 after a two-year layoff that included a suspension from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. He lost to current middleweight champion Israel Adesanya during Adesanya’s ascension to title contention, then was stopped with a first-round TKO by Jared Cannonier in May 2019.
Prior to that, Silva had a unanimous decision win over Derek Brunson in February 2011, which was his first victory since a win over Stephan Bonnar in October 2012. After the Bonnar win, he lost his title to Chris Weidman, then lost a rematch in which he suffered a gruesome leg break. Silva returned in January 2015 and beat Nick Diaz, but had the win overturned by a positive drug test. He then lost decisions to Michael Bisping and Daniel Cormier before his win over Brunson.
Hall has back-to-back wins after a rough stretch that saw him drop four of five fights – but all to top-shelf middleweights including Robert Whittaker on his run to the title, Brunson, Gegard Mousasi and Paulo Costa. In December 2018, he stopped Bevon Lewis with a third-round knockout. And in September 2019, he took a split call from Antonio Carlos Junior.
Hall was set to fight Ronaldo Souza in April, but had the fight scrapped due to COVID-19 postponements. They were rescheduled for May in Florida, but Souza tested positive for coronavirus and was pulled. Hall then booked a fight with Yoel Romero for this week, but Romero fell out with an injury. Instead, Hall gets arguably the highest-stature opponent of his career.
With the official addition, the UFC’s Oct. 31 card now includes:
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Dana White says the UFC is working on Anderson Silva’s last fight – against Uriah Hall.
[autotag]Anderson Silva[/autotag]’s next fight is in the works – and it could be his final one under the UFC’s banner.
According to UFC president Dana White, the UFC is working on a fight for Silva (34-10 MMA, 17-6 UFC) that will take place sometime in 2020. Though White said he’s under the impression the fight will be Silva’s last, he wants to leave that announcement up to Silva.
“We’re working on a fight for him coming up soon here,” White said at the DWCS 29 post-fight news conference Tuesday. “He will fight again. I met with his managers the other day. This will be his last fight. This will be his last fight. I think he’s going to retire. That’s not our business. That’s up to him. That’s up to him. Let him do this the way he wants to do it.”
As for an opponent, White initially didn’t reveal a name. However, when asked a few follow-up questions, White name-dropped who the UFC is targeted as Silva’s next (and potentially last) fight.
“We’re talking about putting him in a very competitive fight that should be fun. … [autotag]Uriah Hall[/autotag],” White said.
Silva, 45, has only won one fight in eight attempts since losing his belt to Chris Weidman at UFC 162 in July 2013. In 2019, Silva competed twice against Israel Adesanya and Jared Cannonier. Against Cannonier, Silva suffered a leg injury on a kick. In May 2020, Silva underwent knee surgery. Upon announcing his surgery completion on Instagram, Silva indicated he had two fights left on his UFC contract and intended on fighting them out.
Hall (15-7 MMA, 8-9 UFC) was scheduled to fight Yoel Romero on Aug. 22. However, Romero recently withdrew from the bout for unknown reasons. Hall is currently riding a two-fight winning streak – the most consecutive wins he’s compiled since late 2015.
The two fighters were originally scheduled to fight at UFC 198 in May 2016. However, Silva fell ill and the fight was scrapped.
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A key middleweight matchup set to go down as next week’s UFC on ESPN 15 co-main event is off the table.
A key middleweight matchup set to go down as next week’s UFC on ESPN 15 co-main event is off the table.
Recent title challenger [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] (13-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) is out of his fight against [autotag]Uriah Hall[/autotag] (15-9 MMA, 8-7 UFC) for an undisclosed reason. A person with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the news to MMA Junkie, but requested anonymity since the UFC hasn’t made a formal announcement. The news first was reported by BJPenn.com.
UFC on ESPN 15 takes place Aug. 22 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card airs on ESPN.
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Romero, No. 6 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie MMA middleweight rankings, is coming off a loss to champion Israel Adesanya in a title bout at UFC 248. He got that shot despite being on a two-fight skid, which Adesanya ran to three. He hasn’t won since a knockout of Luke Rockhold at UFC 221 in February 2018.
Hall has won three of his past four fights. He was set to fight Ronaldo Souza at UFC 249 in May, but the fight was pulled the night before the event when Souza tested positive for COVID-19.
With the change, the UFC on ESPN 15 card now includes:
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