Uriah Hall has been competing in the UFC for over six years now and has amassed a record of 7-7-0 in the promotion.
The middleweight fought and lost to Paulo Costa at UFC 226, but feels that the UFC is run by a mafia after the situation the first time the duo were supposed to meet at UFC Fight Night Atlantic City.
“I was supposed to fight that dude a while back. He pulled a bicep muscle and I was like ‘what?’ Listen, s—t is going on under the radar here. I don’t know why, I have a feeling, but we’re not stupid. We all know what’s really going on here,” Hall said on Pull No Punches (via Shakiel Mahjouri of Bloody Elbow). “I feel like this s—t is being run by some mafia. It feels like that sometimes. The s—t I see some people getting away with, I’m like ‘what the f—k bro?’ When you really think about it, it’s not even about fighting anymore. It’s about entertainment. No one is going out there and being honorable anymore.”
Costa suffered a biceps injury when they were supposed to meet for the first time in Atlantic City.
Hall has dealt with mental and psychological issues when fighting in the past, but is also happy that more sports psychologists and mental health coaches are entering MMA.
“I thought I needed it, but I look at it this way. Mental coaches are kinda like making your bed. You have to consistently do it, which is okay, because training your mind is very important. But what if I put all that energy into doing it myself?” he said. “I’m not saying I wouldn’t take help, but I’m not going to make it a priority to give you all the power to say ‘I need you.’ All I have to do is literally sit-down and have a one-on-one with myself. When I say alone time, people think, ‘Oh, yeah. I have alone time. I walk my dog.’ That’s not f—king alone time!” he continued. “Alone time is sitting down in a room, close the door, close your eyes and say, ‘Alright Uriah, what’s up?’”... At the end of the day, I know me better than anyone.”
There is no word at this time as to when Hall will fight next, as he last competed at UFC 232 in December of 2018.
