When the wider world first became exposed to Uriah Hall, they thought they were after discovering something very special.
Back before the term became a hackneyed phrase, Uriah Hall broke the internet with that knockout on the Ultimate Fighter.
His spinning heel kick knockout of Adam Cella on season 17 of the reality series remains one of the scariest finishes in the history of the sport.
The celebrations after that heel cracked against his opponent’s skull were dampened as Cella struggled on the canvas. There were genuine concerns over Cella’s well-being as he lay prone for an extended period on the mat, but once he stood back up, it was time to digest what just transpired.
It looked like the UFC had a legitimate superstar in the making, but it didn’t turn out as expected once Hall entered the Octagon.
After dropping back-to-back split decisions to Kelvin Gastelum and John Howard in his first two fights, Hall racked up three straight wins before coming up on the wrong side of splitsville to Rafael Natal.
He bounced back from that loss with a stellar first round knockout of Oluwale Bambose followed by a shock knockout of Gegard Mousasi. However, the good times didn’t last long as he suffered three losses on the trot against Robert Whittaker, Derek Brunson and Mousasi in the rematch in Belfast.
From the first few moments of his UFC Pittsburgh clash against Krzysztof Jotko, he seemed destined to lose his fourth fight in a row. It was a clear 10-8 for the Polish powerhouse as he appeared to be on the cusp of a finish with his devastating flurries and vicious ground and pound.
OHHHH @JotkoMMA ROCKS Hall and has him hurt!! #UFCPittsburgh pic.twitter.com/GklpWY1Mq9
— UFC (@ufc) September 17, 2017
However, the fight ain’t over until it’s over, and Hall certainly wasn’t done yet.
As Jotko seemed a bit drained from the first round annihilation, Hall was brimming with energetic confidence as he came forward and landed flush with a beautiful right hand that sent Jotko crashing down to the mat. Hall pounced with some more strikes on the ground to seal the TKO victory at 2:25 of the opening stanza.
WHAT A COMEBACK!!@UriahHallMMA drops Jotko, gets the finish in round 2!! WOW!!#UFCPittsburgh pic.twitter.com/z4aoyT6PP2
— UFC (@ufc) September 17, 2017
The result improves Hall’s record to 13-8 and 6-6 inside the UFC’s Octagon. Meanwhile, Jotko, 19-3, is now riding back-to-back losses for the first time in his career
