Latest news with #UriahHall
Time of India
27-04-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
The unreal UFC fight when UFC star Uriah Hall won a fight without throwing a single punch
The unreal UFC fight when UFC star Uriah Hall won a fight without throwing a single punch (Image Source: Getty Images) UFC star Uriah Hall wins fight without throwing a single punch (Image Source: Getty Images) The unreal UFC fight when UFC star Uriah Hall won a fight without throwing a single punch (Image Source: Getty Images) UFC star Uriah Hall wins fight without throwing a single punch (Image Source: Getty Images) The unreal UFC fight when UFC star Uriah Hall won a fight without throwing a single punch (Image Source: Getty Images) 1 2 Uriah Hall became the first fighter in UFC history to win a fight without throwing a single strike or landing one, in a remarkable and unprecedented moment. At UFC 261 in Jacksonville, Florida, on April 24, 2021, the middleweight fighter made this unusual history by facing former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman in a rematch that was highly anticipated. The twist in the Chris Weidman-Uriah Hall incident that shocked 15,000 fans MMA enthusiasts were not unaware of the irony of the victory. Chris Weidman had beaten the legendary Anderson Silva almost in the same manner, in December 2013, when Anderson Silva broke his leg after Chris Weidman checked his kick. This was one of the eerily coincidental moments in combat sports history, and the parallel between these two incidents made for a perfect one. "I've got nothing but respect for Chris Weidman," Uriah Hall told Joe Rogan in his post-fight interview. "He's truly one of the best. It is a crazy story that he was the first man I fought who defeated me, who introduced me to fear... I feel so bad for him." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Thousands Are Saving Money Using This Wall Plug elecTrick - Save upto 80% on Power Bill Click Here Undo Approximately 15,000 fans cheered as the replays of the injury were shown on arena screens, but it was UFC's first event with a full crowd since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Chris Weidman won the bizarre victory 17 seconds into the first round when he threw a right leg kick Uriah Hall checked with his left leg. Chris Weidman's lower right leg instantly snapped in a gruesome injury upon impact, the sound of which echoed throughout the arena. Chris Weidman stepped back on his broken leg, and referee intervention and medical assistance were called. Uriah Hall's journey from highlight-reel striker to unique history maker The UFC contract Uriah Hall earned before this unprecedented victory was via the reality show The Ultimate Fighter, where he built a reputation as a devastating striker. Hall's UFC tenure never quite lived up to his early career highlights of spectacular knockouts and victories over legends like Anderson Silva and Gegard Mousasi. The unusual win over Chris Weidman opened up new turns in Uriah Hall's career. He lost a row before being released by the UFC against Sean Strickland and Andre Muniz. He then switched to boxing and beat former NFL player Le'Veon Bell before dropping a unanimous decision to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in July 2023. Hall was meant to fight Douglas Lima at GFL 2, but his fight was cancelled because the promotion cancelled their debut events due to a lack of investment. Also Read: 'I wouldn't fight him' – Welterweight champion Belal Muhammad will not fight Islam Makhachev for one heartwarming reason The Chris Weidman-Uriah Hall incident remains one of the most unusual moments in UFC history, highlighting the unpredictable and sometimes cruel nature of combat sports.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Chris Weidman wants Luke Rockhold rematch for GFL debut: 'They're really putting their money where their mouth is'
Chris Weidman wasted no time jumping ship after announcing his UFC departure. As the new kid on the MMA block, the Global Fight League (GFL) is attempting to sweep up as many notables name as possible, including fighters fresh off the UFC roster like Weidman and Tony Ferguson. Weidman's career has been nearing its end since his catastrophic leg break in 2021 against Uriah Hall; however, he's fought three times since then, and instead of retiring after his latest loss — a second-round knockout to Eryk Anders — he departed the UFC and now joins GFL on the promotion's New York team. Speaking to Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show," Weidman shared how his involvement in the upstart league came together. 'I think it was right around the time where my manager was telling me that it's probably not a thing," Weidman said. "He was calling [GFL] and they were talking, but I didn't think it was going anywhere, to be honest. I was cool with it either way. It was really after that that things started moving fast, which is weird. "Everybody thought I was retiring. I did leave it open that I'm open to other opportunities. I'm closing the chapter with the UFC, I'm retiring from the UFC, but I understand a lot of people thought I was just retiring from MMA — which, I didn't know if I was. I thought I probably was retiring from MMA, but now I'm excited. I didn't realize I'd have all these different matchups [available to me in the GFL] — like a guy like Luke Rockhold, that's a matchup that not only I always wanted back, but the fans really always wanted to see for a long time. We were supposed to rematch twice and it didn't happen, so that's a cool opportunity. You got [Gegard] Mousasi, you got Uriah Hall, Yoel Romero. There's some fun fights that are really going to make me get into the gym and want to really train hard for.' GFL's official introduction came this past Friday when the promotion aired its "draft" live, unveiling all 120 fighters on the inaugural six teams. According to GFL founder Darren Owen, the promotion plans to launch its first event in April and may hold three shows in two days on certain weekends. Even though he's on the New York team, former UFC middleweight champ Weidman is still relatively in the dark about details, but he remains optimistic for another strong UFC alternative. 'I'm hoping this thing plays out," Weidman said. "I hope they're successful. It's a very tough business. I would think that you don't want to really compete with the UFC. That shouldn't be the goal. I don't think that's something that really can be done at this point, but I think there's a lot of room to make a lot of money to put on great fights, so I don't really know. 'The business side of it sounds amazing for the fighters, they're doing the right thing for the fighters. I just don't know if [it's going to work in the long run]. I'm hoping it's sustainable. I hope that they're just really good business guys and they've looked at the numbers, and they see how they could be profitable with this, and it's something that continues. Not just for me, but for the future, for MMA fighters. I think it's always good to have other promotions that fighters have the opportunity to fight in, and you can make good money, and they're doing a lot of cool things, man. "They're trying to set up retirement for the fighters, medical for the fighters and their families, 50/50 profit sharing. I mean, they're really putting their money where their mouth is and trying to do the best for the fighters they possibly can. We'll see if it's something that is sustainable and something that really could make it far.' Weidman, 40, watched his stock drop precipitously in his final five UFC outings; by the end, he was battling with unranked fighters and had fallen to prelims. In the GFL, though, he's reenergized by the idea of redemption against old foes — Rockhold, in particular. In 2015, Weidman's undefeated 13-0 run met a brutal end at UFC 194 courtesy of Rockhold, who snatched Weidman's middleweight title with an infamous fourth-round knockout. The stars never aligned for Weidman to get his rematch, but now he wants to finish that story in GFL. 'I would love Luke Rockhold, [that] would be my first fight," Weidman said. "We have the most history. I know I lost to those other guys, but the Rockhold one was my first loss. I lost my belt against him, we had animosity and all that stuff. There's build-up, and we were supposed to rematch twice. I think it's a fun fight for the fans, that people would be super interested in watching. I mean, when fans come up to me, it's one thing that comes up pretty regularly — they want me to get the rematch with Rockhold. They want me to get that one back, and I'm with them.' It also doesn't hurt that GFL appears to be opening its wallet for all these well-known names. While he declined to provide specifics, Weidman isn't complaining about the numbers coming his way. 'Oh yeah, yes, yeah, very much so. Very good,' Weidman answered when asked if he was being financially taken care of.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Chris Weidman wants Luke Rockhold rematch for GFL debut: 'They're really putting their money where their mouth is'
Chris Weidman wasted no time jumping ship after announcing his UFC departure. As the new kid on the MMA block, the Global Fight League (GFL) is attempting to sweep up as many notables name as possible, including fighters fresh off the UFC roster like Weidman and Tony Ferguson. Weidman's career has been nearing its end since his catastrophic leg break in 2021 against Uriah Hall; however, he's fought three times since then, and instead of retiring after his latest loss — a second-round knockout to Eryk Anders — he departed the UFC and now joins GFL on the promotion's New York team. Speaking to Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show," Weidman shared how his involvement in the upstart league came together. 'I think it was right around the time where my manager was telling me that it's probably not a thing," Weidman said. "He was calling [GFL] and they were talking, but I didn't think it was going anywhere, to be honest. I was cool with it either way. It was really after that that things started moving fast, which is weird. "Everybody thought I was retiring. I did leave it open that I'm open to other opportunities. I'm closing the chapter with the UFC, I'm retiring from the UFC, but I understand a lot of people thought I was just retiring from MMA — which, I didn't know if I was. I thought I probably was retiring from MMA, but now I'm excited. I didn't realize I'd have all these different matchups [available to me in the GFL] — like a guy like Luke Rockhold, that's a matchup that not only I always wanted back, but the fans really always wanted to see for a long time. We were supposed to rematch twice and it didn't happen, so that's a cool opportunity. You got [Gegard] Mousasi, you got Uriah Hall, Yoel Romero. There's some fun fights that are really going to make me get into the gym and want to really train hard for.' GFL's official introduction came this past Friday when the promotion aired its "draft" live, unveiling all 120 fighters on the inaugural six teams. According to GFL founder Darren Owen, the promotion plans to launch its first event in April and may hold three shows in two days on certain weekends. Even though he's on the New York team, former UFC middleweight champ Weidman is still relatively in the dark about details, but he remains optimistic for another strong UFC alternative. 'I'm hoping this thing plays out," Weidman said. "I hope they're successful. It's a very tough business. I would think that you don't want to really compete with the UFC. That shouldn't be the goal. I don't think that's something that really can be done at this point, but I think there's a lot of room to make a lot of money to put on great fights, so I don't really know. 'The business side of it sounds amazing for the fighters, they're doing the right thing for the fighters. I just don't know if [it's going to work in the long run]. I'm hoping it's sustainable. I hope that they're just really good business guys and they've looked at the numbers, and they see how they could be profitable with this, and it's something that continues. Not just for me, but for the future, for MMA fighters. I think it's always good to have other promotions that fighters have the opportunity to fight in, and you can make good money, and they're doing a lot of cool things, man. "They're trying to set up retirement for the fighters, medical for the fighters and their families, 50/50 profit sharing. I mean, they're really putting their money where their mouth is and trying to do the best for the fighters they possibly can. We'll see if it's something that is sustainable and something that really could make it far.' Weidman, 40, watched his stock drop precipitously in his final five UFC outings; by the end, he was battling with unranked fighters and had fallen to prelims. In the GFL, though, he's reenergized by the idea of redemption against old foes — Rockhold, in particular. In 2015, Weidman's undefeated 13-0 run met a brutal end at UFC 194 courtesy of Rockhold, who snatched Weidman's middleweight title with an infamous fourth-round knockout. The stars never aligned for Weidman to get his rematch, but now he wants to finish that story in GFL. 'I would love Luke Rockhold, [that] would be my first fight," Weidman said. "We have the most history. I know I lost to those other guys, but the Rockhold one was my first loss. I lost my belt against him, we had animosity and all that stuff. There's build-up, and we were supposed to rematch twice. I think it's a fun fight for the fans, that people would be super interested in watching. I mean, when fans come up to me, it's one thing that comes up pretty regularly — they want me to get the rematch with Rockhold. They want me to get that one back, and I'm with them.' It also doesn't hurt that GFL appears to be opening its wallet for all these well-known names. While he declined to provide specifics, Weidman isn't complaining about the numbers coming his way. 'Oh yeah, yes, yeah, very much so. Very good,' Weidman answered when asked if he was being financially taken care of.
USA Today
27-01-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Chris Weidman addresses 'elephant in the room' after signing with GFL following UFC retirement
Chris Weidman's name appearing in the Global Fight League draft confused many. That's because longtime UFC fighter Weidman (16-8 MMA, 12-8 UFC) had just announced his retirement less than 10 days ago, before opting to continue fighting. The former UFC middleweight champion, who was Team New York's second pick in the GFL draft, explained his decision to join the league. He sees big opportunities to avenge prior career losses. 'The elephant in the room is I just retired from the UFC,' Weidman said during the GFL broadcast. 'A lot of people thought I was done fighting. I didn't know. I thought maybe I am done fighting. I was kind of open to other opportunities outside of the UFC, but it had to be good. 'This is a league where there's a lot of guys that I have a history with. You've got Luke Rockhold, you've got Gegard Mousasi, you've got Uriah Hall. Rockhold was my first loss ever. That was a tough pill for me to swallow. We were supposed to rematch a bunch of times in UFC, but it never happened. So that would be a fight I'd love to have. Uriah Hall broke my damn leg in my last fight. He was a gentleman about it, but we had fought twice. '… It's older dudes that I have a lot of history with. I love to compete and we make a whole lot of money. It's not something I really feel like I can say no to. It's really an exciting time for me.' Weidman, 40, most recently competed at UFC 310 this past December when he was knocked out by Eryk Anders in the second round.
