Dana White flip-flopped his opinion on Uriah Hall like a politician running for office.
First, Hall was the meanest guy in the history of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series. On Saturday night? Hall was far too nice.
“He’s just got to work on his head,” White said in his post-fight scrum with reporters. “I just told him, ‘You gotta get that head straight, man. You’ve got to get meaner. You’re not mean enough.'”
Hall, who hails from Queens, is not mean at all. He’s a nice guy and disarming with his humor. Regardless of his demeanor, Hall simply didn’t perform up to the lofty standards he set for himself in a split decision loss to underdog Kelvin Gastelum at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale in Las Vegas.
Hall, 28, finished all four men he faced leading up to the finals. All four men ended up in the hospital. He crushed Adam Cella with a spinning heel kick and broke Bubba McDaniels’ orbital bone with a devasting right hand.
But the Hall from the “TUF” house wasn’t the same one we saw Saturday night. White said he “mentally broke” and the big stage was too much for him. Hall dropped his hands, doing a faux Anderson Silva impression and was taken down nearly at will by the unheralded Gastelum.
“A big part of it is, it’s kind of hard,” Hall said. “Because I trained with the guy and I like him. It was kind of like that emotional side I was trying to get rid of. So it was kind of weird, just going into the ring I was like, ‘Oh, s–t. Here we go again.’ That side kind of got the best of me, but there’s no excuse. Kelvin’s a great guy. He’s a tough kid. I think he’s going to go really far in this sport and I’m happy for him.”
Hall had his moments. He tossed Gastelum with a WWE-style German suplex in the second round and shook Gastelum off him in the third, ending up in dominant position with relative ease. Those snippets of dominance remained few and far between.
Gastelum won the show and the six-figure contract. But everyone still sees Hall as the greater prospect and he’ll certainly get a UFC deal. The talented, athletic middleweight kickboxer didn’t deliver Saturday night, but he’ll assuredly get a second – and likely third – chance to fulfill his substantial promise.
*
Urijah Faber essentially did what everyone expected him to – defeat Scott Jorgensen in an exciting battle. The victory doesn’t do much for Faber’s resume, but it was a pay check and another notch on his belt filled with substantial accomplishments. Of course, he seems to be at arm’s length from the truly elite fighters in the bantamweight division like Renan Barao and Dominick Cruz. But if Faber keeps beating everyone else, it’s inevitable he’ll find himself in another title shot.
*
Cat Zingano might not be able to beat Ronda Rousey – or stay out of her armbar in the first round – but she’ll be a compelling opponent in November or December for the UFC women’s champion. Zingano is a 30-year-old mother who does not look like your typical cage fighter and could bring a whole new demographic into watching that fight, not unlike how Liz Carmouche was able to draw in some fans from the LGBT community. Zingano, at 8-0, has also never lost.
*
It’s not often you see a fighter knocked out by standing, downward elbow strikes. But Travis Browne pulled it off against Gabriel Gonzaga, who was attempting a takedown up against the fence in the first round. The match lasted just 1:11, so you couldn’t really get a take on how either men looked. But a win is a win for Browne (plus a “Knockout of the Night” bonus), whose only career loss came to Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva when he injured his leg during the fight.
*
During this season’s “Ultimate Fighter,” I wasn’t nearly as high on some of the fighters as most others were. It seems like they proved me wrong. Josh Samman, Dylan Andrews, Bubba McDaniel and Clint Hester all looked good. Luke Barnatt is solid, too. All of them probably have futures in the UFC.