Sean Strickland Easily Defeats Uriah Hall, Awaits an Elite Opponent

Sean Strickland posted a very important victory over Uriah Hall last night, the one which could change his entire career.

The Tarzan, as the fans call him, was more than dominant against the veteran, earning a unanimous decision triumph, which propels him into the top echelon of the middleweight division.

Strickland (24-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) imposed the tempo early on, producing a high punching output, and Hall couldn’t follow that. We’ve expected more from the Jamaican fighting out of New York, but it seems that once the most promising fighter in the middleweight won’t have a chance to fight for the title in his career.

The fight could have easily ended in the third or the fourth round, with Strickland having a few chances to finish Hall, who simply couldn’t match Tarzan’s intensity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3c6u0EdX0OU

Hall was with his back against the fence early in the second when Strickland hurt him with a combo. The 37-year old who was celebrating his birthday survived that. The third round saw Strickland hitting Hall with a hard punch behind the ear, and after that, immediately going after him on the canvas.

He was looking to end the battle and was all over the older opponent, who was trying to get back on his feet, however, unsuccessfully. Tarzan was after a rear-naked choke, yet Hall somehow managed to hear the horn.

The fourth round had a similar scenario as the previous one. Hall was better in the beginning, looking more energetic than his rival. But all that was apparently Strickland’s tactics, with the 30-year old waiting for his chance to burst. One minute before the end of the sequence, Strickland took down Hall hurting the opponent with several strong hits, adding another round to his account.

It was obvious that Hall’s cardio can’t match Strickland’s, who was fresh in between the rounds, anxiously waiting for the sign to get back into the octagon. Once the match ended, there was no question about who would win this event, with the judges scoring comfortably in Tarzan’s favor, 50-45, 50-45, and 49-46.

“Five rounds was a little fun,” Strickland said. “You know, the last round is always the funniest. You get so tired, you don’t care about getting hit.”

Strickland now has five consecutive victories, four in a row following his comeback after a car accident he had three years ago. He would beat Jack Marshman, Brendan Allen, Krzystof Jotko, and Hall during that time.

That was a beatdown. No other way to say it. Sean Strickland bullies Uriah Hall around for five rounds. Credit to Hall for hanging in there the full five, but that was one way traffic. Man. Hall is gonna feel that one tomorrow.

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) August 1, 2021

At the moment, it seems that all the hard work is finally getting paid for Strickland, a guy with one of the toughest life stories in the UFC. After the match, he stated that fighting gives him purpose and that without it, his life wouldn’t be good at all.

“As long as there’s that logo under my feet and I’m fighting, I’m happy. Oh, my god, it gives me purpose. If it wasn’t for the UFC, I’d probably be cooking meth and in prison.”

We expect to see Strickland in another headliner, but against a contender. The middleweight division is stacked with quality, and several names are in option for his next bout, Paulo Costa, Jared Cannonier, Derek Brunson, maybe even Marvin Vettori.

As for Hall, apparently, the Prime Time will continue being a gatekeeper, and his future in the UFC is not that promising.