An exciting striker versus striker match-up co-headlines UFC Fight Night St. Louis as dynamic kicking specialist Uriah ‘Prime Time’ Hall faces former UFC light heavyweight champ and undoubtedly one of the most feared individuals in mixed-martial-arts history, Vitor ‘The Phenom’ Belfort.
Jamaican Kyokushin expert Hall rebounded from a poor spell of form which included three consecutive losses to battle back from the brink and stop Polish striker Krzysztof Jotko, while Brazilian fan favorite Belfort similarly recovered from a difficult chapter in his storied career, in a highly controversial decision victory over the recently retired Nate ‘The Great’ Marquardt.
Remembered by many for his legitimately terrifying spinning hook kick KO of Adam Celia during his spell on the 17th installment of The Ultimate Fighter, Tiger Schulmann trained Hall scored most definitely his career highlight victory in yet another spinning attack, this time reading a Gegard Mousasi level change to catch the now Bellator middleweight contender with a spinning back kick, rocking the Dutch striker before finishing with strikes.
In a subsequent rematch with ‘The Dreamcatcher’ at UFC Fight Night Belfast, Mousasi displayed his crisper striking and technique to finish the flashy Hall in the opening five minutes. Hall has also tasted defeat at the hands of current middleweight best Robert Whittaker, before another knockout defeat to 185lbs ranking climber Derek Brunson. With other eye-catching performances against the likes of Thiago Santos and Chris Leben, the 33-year-old is looking to finally kick-start his career off the back of a possible Belfort beating.
Competing professionally since 1996, Brazil native Belfort is one MMA’s most important pioneers and examples of skill, hard work and talent. With some incredible victories over Wanderlei Silva, Tank Abbott, Randy Couture, Anthony Johnson and more, ‘The Phenom{s}’ third run in the Ultimate Fighting Championship may be his most memorable.
Incredible boxing followed up with intense aggression has seen him score some genuinely scary stoppages.
Opening an enormous cut over the eye of Marvin Eastman’s eyebrow, stopping the aforementioned Silva with an incredibly precise and rapid boxing barrage, flatlining Matt Lindland during his brief spell in Affliction, permanently damaging the eye of former middleweight champ Michael Bisping with a high kick knockout, stopping Dan Henderson in the pair’s trilogy bout and unforgettably unleashing a lethal wheel kick on Luke Rockhold to send the striker to the canvas in the pair’s Brazil bout, make’s Belfort one of the most deadliest finishers to feature in the octagon.
At now 40 years of age, Belfort’s best days are well behind him, but the period in which he was controversially known as ‘TRT Vitor’, when the Rio de Janeiro native failed a random drug test for elevated testosterone due to a direct result of engaging in testosterone replacement therapy, will always be a topic of conversation whenever his legacy is spoken of. Despite his age, Belfort is still capable of landing a big shot at any time within the first seven or so minutes.
PREDICTION: Vitor Belfort via knockout.
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