TUF 24 Finale's Ryan Hall thinks Gray Maynard should have gone out on his shield

LAS VEGAS – UFC featherweight Ryan Hall might have no regrets about his tactics against Gray Maynard at The Ultimate Fighter 24 Finale, but even he can acknowledge the fight was “weird” at times.

Hall likened the experience to facing Artem Lobov in the “TUF 22” tournament final, which he won via unanimous decision to win the reality show and secure a UFC contract.

“He also elected to sit there and call it a night rather than go for broke, which is something that, as a competitor, frankly, I don’t understand,” Hall (6-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) said after a unanimous-decision win over Maynard (12-6-1 MMA, 10-6-1 UFC) at this past Saturday’s event, which took place at The Pearl at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas and aired live on FS1. “But it’s a choice people make that. Going forward, maybe they’ll make a different one.”

Over three rounds, Hall and Maynard settled in to a familiar, if frustrating, rhythm. Maynard, a two-time title challenger, tried in vain to land big punches as Hall alternated between kicks and drops to the mat to initiate grappling exchanges.

Late in the fight, Maynard grew so frustrated that he flipped off Hall, who said he “responded in kind” with an invitation to come to the mat to settle his issues.

“He elected not to do that,” Hall said. “Were I him, I would have given it a shot at a certain point, because I felt like he was pretty cleanly behind on the scorecards at that point. I would sooner risk going out on my shield than not.”

The result, a slow crawl to a decision after 15 minutes, was certainly not pleasing to the crowd at The Palms; a stream of boos greeted the fighters as the bout came to a close. Hall, a decorated jiu-jitsu player who later transitioned into MMA, took his fair share of criticism for flopping to the mat and butt-scooting across the canvas.

It’s a style that’s already polarizing to MMA fans. Hall, though, argues it’s one that keeps him healthy in the long run.

“Unlike grappling, which is a control sport, MMA is a damage sport,” he said. “It really is in your interest, if you can, to get through these fights as cleanly as possible. Fortunately, in this instance, I was able to do it.”

That might not always be the case as he moves up the UFC’s featherweight ladder. Sooner or later, he’ll run into an opponent who will go to the ground and test his ability to take a hard punch. But if he can put off that experience for high-profile, big-money fights, it’s doubtful he’ll change anything about the way he fights.

“If they were to give me someone in the top 10, I’d fight them,” the 31-yar-old said. “I’m not going to be around MMA very long, realistically, and I didn’t come here to fight bums. So the sooner I can get in there against tough guys like Gray, the happier I’ll be.”

For complete coverage of The Ultimate Fighter 24 Finale, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan contributed to this report on site in Las Vegas.)