In September of 2015 Uriah Hall pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the year when he knocked out Gegard Mousasi at UFC Japan. Mousasi was the heavy favourite and after a dominant first round looked on course to win comfortably. That was until Hall caught Mousasi with a picture perfect spinning back kick to become the first man to finish the former Strikeforce champ by strikes.
Tomorrow night the two will reacquaint themselves with each other inside the Octagon at UFC Belfast and once again the Dutch fighter is the heavy favourite, but this time round Mousasi is coming into the fight on the back of some of his best performances of his 13 year career and a new type of steely determination. Back to back KO’s over Thiago Santos and Vitor Belfort as well as a decision win against former title challenger Thales Leites have shown the Mousasi of old. A win in Belfast may not help his title aspirations, but it gives the chance to avenge that loss.
Hall, meanwhile still has that ability to pull something exceptional out of the bag at anytime to win the fight, but after dropping a decision to Robert Whittaker and getting knocked out by Derek Brunson in September Hall would need something special to win for a second time.
‘Primetime’ has the skills in his repitore to cause Mousasi all sorts of problems, but if he can’t fight off the clinch game and the takedowns of Mousasi then he’s in a world of trouble. Mousasi is on a tear since Hall knocked him out and while a win tomorrow night does nothing for his title aspirations it wipes the slate for his first knockout loss. Look for Mousasi to finish inside three.
The co-main sees Ross Pearson make his return to the Octagon to face Stevie Ray. Both fighters are coming off losses and are in need of a win to get back towards the rankings. Again in the style of Seery/McCall it’s the classic striker v grappler matchup. Pearson has the advantage on the feet while Ray’s jiu-jitsu game is among the best in Europe.
Pearson was originally supposed to face James Krause, but a torn hamstring forced him out of the bout. Ray stepped in on just over two weeks notice and that could play a big factor. Pearson has good cardio and his striking is crisp enough to cause big problems for Ray in the later rounds. Pearson should be able to look for the finish towards the end of the fight.
