Former middleweight champion and all-time great Anderson "The Spider" Silva (34-10, 23 KOs, 3 SUBs) will meet highlight reel knockout artist Uriah "Primetime" Hall (15-9, 11 KOs, 1 SUB) at UFC Fight Night: Hall vs. Silva on Saturday, October 31, 2020 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The card airs live on ESPN+ starting 10pm ET. Also on the card is heavyweight prospect and former Dallas Cowboy Greg Hardy (6-2, 5 KOs), in a matchup against Maurice Greene (9-4, 2 KOs, 5 SUBs). Let’s take a closer look at the main event matchup between Silva and Hall.
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Anderson Silva (34-10, 23 KOs, 3 SUBs)
With The Spider’s place in history secured - he’s one of the GOATs of the sport - the Brazilian finds himself squarely in the fun fights phase of his career. At 45 years old, there really isn’t much else for him to do: he’s good enough to not be a sitting duck, but it’s clear that Silva won’t ever be a title contender again. It’s been a steep fall since losing his title to Chris Weidman in 2013. Including that defeat (where he was knocked out while showboating), Silva has gone just 1-8 with one No Contest. The silver lining is that he’s only faced top competition, losing to guys like Michael Bisping, Daniel Cormier, Israel Adesanya and most recently, Jared Cannonier.
The thing with Anderson is that you’ll see flashes of the striking skill that made him untouchable for the better part of a decade. Current middleweight champion Israel Adesanya respected his skills so much that he could only manage a tepid decision win. He nearly finished Michael Bisping before reverting back to his clown act and letting the Brit steal a fight he could’ve clearly won. At his age, Silva has declined to the point where young speedsters can outmaneuver him, and powerful wrestlers can drag him to the ground. Both those statements would’ve been unthinkable 10 years ago - Silva was miles ahead as a striker and nearly impossible to take down.
Uriah Hall (15-9, 11 KOs, 1 SUB)
It’s impossible to start any conversation about Hall without mentioning that he has failed to live up to his expectations. But given that those expectations were set at "legitimate title contender", it’s understandable that Hall couldn’t meet them - few fighters ever do. But all things considered, Hall has had a relatively productive career. From the minute he emerged on The Ultimate Fighter, nobody has denied his talent, which is how he’s earned fights against some of the best in the business: Hall has shared the cage with the likes of Kelvin Gastelum, Thiago Santos, Gegard Mousasi, Robert Whittaker, Derek Brunson and Paulo Costa. The catch is that he lost to all those aforementioned guys, with the exception of Santos.
The 36-year old won’t ever sniff the heights that Silva reached, but that’s not what matters here. We’re here to figure out whether he’s got the goods to beat Silva on Saturday night, and in that context the answer is a resounding yes. Hall is an experienced veteran, nearly 10 years younger, and still an explosive knockout threat. But as good as he can be, Hall’s mental toughness has always been something that could be exploited.
Significant Striking Stats
Strikes landed per minute: Silva 3.04 / Hall 3.31
Striking accuracy: Silva 62% / Hall 50%
Strikes absorbed per minute: Silva 1.98 / Hall 3.57
Striking defense: Silva 61% / Hall 53%
Grappling Stats
Takedowns landed per 15 minutes: Silva 0.52 / Hall 0.75
Takedown accuracy: Silva 77% / Hall 38%
Takedown defense: Silva 69% / Hall 69%
Submissions per 15 minutes: Silva 0.8 / Hall 0.2
UFC Picks
This could absolutely be a fight where Silva and Hall just feint at each other for 25 minutes, and the judges could sway in either direction. But we’re leaning on Hall here, simply because he is the faster, fresher fighter. It’s been more than seven years since Silva scored a knockout, which makes us doubt that he can pull one off here. Hall should have the confidence to land more impactful shots, which should lead to a scorecard victory.
UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Hall Card & Odds
Middleweight - Anderson Silva +200 vs. Uriah Hall -245
Middleweight - Makhmud Muradov +119 vs. Kevin Holland -143
Heavyweight - Maurice Greene +261 vs. Greg Hardy -328
Lightweight - Thiago Moises +260 vs. Bobby Green -328
Lightweight - Chris Gruetzemacher +297 vs. Alexander Hernandez -381
Middleweight - Jack Marshman +252 vs. Sean Strickland -318
Lightweight - Cole Williams +118 vs. Jason Witt -142
Light Heavyweight - Justin Ledet +281 vs. Dustin Jacoby -359
Women’s Flyweight - Priscila Cachoeira +203 vs. Cortney Casey -250
Bantamweight - Kevin Natividad +138 vs. Miles Johns -166
Bantamweight - Victor Rodriguez +313 vs. Adrian Yanez -405
Featherweight - Andre Fili +125 vs. Bryce Mitchell -149
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