Uriah Hall faces a crossroads fight on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 116, as he takes on Krzysztof Jotko in one of the four preliminary bouts that can be seen on FS1. Hall is 12-8 in his career but he comes into this bout on a three-fight losing streak and there is a chance he could be cut from the UFC with a fourth straight defeat. He takes on a fighter in Jotko who is 19-2 in his career, including 6-2 in the UFC. This bout is one of four preliminary bouts that will be shown on FS1, leading up to a six-fight main card, also on FS1, featuring Luke Rockhold vs. David Branch. Let’s take a look at the bout between Jotko and Hall.
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Krzysztof Jotko (19-2, 6-2 UFC)
Jotko was moving his way up in the middleweight division, as he had won five straight bouts before a defeat to David Branch at UFC 211 in May. That loss was a tough one for Jotko, as it came by split decision and could have gone either way. Jotko has some power but recently his fights have been going to decision and that may be one reason the rounds on this fight at listed at 2.5 with the over the favorite. Jotko won four of his first seven fights by knockout but he has just one knockout since. Eight of his last ten bouts have gone to a decision.
Jotko has not fought nearly the level of competition that Hall has faced, but he does have six wins in the UFC and only two defeats. Jotko could just as easily be in the main event against Rockhold had he gotten the decision last time out against Branch.
Uriah Hall (12-8, 5-6 UFC)
Hall is on the brink of being out of the UFC. He has not won a fight since 2015, losing three straight bouts, two of which came by first round knockout. He was beaten by Robert Whittaker late in 2015, he lost to Derek Brunson in September of last year and he was beaten by Gegard Mousasi last November. It is all or nothing with Hall, as he has big power but his chin is weak. Hall has fought 20 times and 11 of his fights have ended in a knockout. Hall has eight knockout wins but he has been knocked out three times.
Hall has not won a fight since September of 2015 when he defeated Gegard Mousasi by second round knockout. It is hard to get too excited about taking a fighter who has lost three straight fights but it is worth noting that the three losses by Hall came against good fighters. It is also worth noting that Hall believes his last two losses to Mousasi and Brunson were stopped too soon.
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Hall has lost three straight fights but it is not like Brunson, Whittaker and Mousasi are bad fighters. Jotko doesn’t have a ton of great wins on his resume so perhaps he is being overvalued in this fight. This is also a huge fight for Hall, as he is facing the prospect of being cut from the UFC if he loses. There is nothing like motivation to get a fighter to fight his best and Hall does have big time power. I think the price on this fight is too high and that Hall can find a way to get the win.
UFC Fight Night 116 takes place on Saturday, September 16 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. There are six fights on the main card on FS1 featuring Luke Rockhold vs. David Branch beginning at 10 p.m. Eastern Time. There are five fights on the preliminary card, with four on FS1 beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern Time and one on UFC Fight Pass, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
Main Card (FS1)
Luke Rockhold -525 vs. David Branch (rounds 2.5 over -130)
Mike Perry vs. TBA
Hector Lombard -115 vs. Anthony Smith (rounds 1.5 over -130)
Gregor Gillespie -425 vs. Jason Gonzalez (rounds 1.5 over -155)
Kamaru Usman -600 vs. Sergio Moraes (rounds 2.5 over -235)
Justin Ledet -375 vs. Zu Anyanwu (rounds 1.5 over -155)
Preliminary Card (FS1)
Olivier Aubin-Mercier -124 vs. Tony Martin (rounds 2.5 over -215)
Anthony Hamilton -200 vs. Daniel Spitz (rounds 1.5 over -120)
Krzysztof Jotko -200 vs. Uriah Hall (rounds 2.5 over -240)
Luke Sanders -215 vs. Felipe Arantes (rounds 2.5 over -180)
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Gilbert Burns -135 vs. Jason Saggo (rounds 2.5 over -215)
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