Despite 3-fight skid, Uriah Hall not giving up on MMA: 'I'm going to keep doing it until I get it'

BELFAST, Northern Ireland – Uriah Hall has never been scared to open up about his internal battle about his career in MMA. Sometimes he’s all-in on the sport, other times he feels like the down points could drag him away for good.

Hall (12-8 MMA, 5-6 UFC) experienced a new low at UFC Fight Night 99 on Saturday when for the first time in his career he suffered a third consecutive loss. Gegard Mousasi (41-6-2 MMA, 8-3 UFC) stopped Hall by first-round TKO in the main event of the UFC Fight Pass-streamed fight card at SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland, putting him on a skid unlike anything he’s experienced before.

“Prime Time” has dropped back-to-back fights on two previous occasions in his career, but for the first time he was unable to rebound from that adversity because he was put away by Mousasi’s strikes inside the first round. Despite that experience, Hall said he’s going to keep his head high and continue to chase the greatness many have seen in him since he first appeared on Season 17 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series several years ago.

“It’s a loss; sometimes you go in there and it doesn’t go your way,” Hall told reporters at UFC Fight Night 99’s post-fight news conference. “You take it as an athlete, as a professional. You just got to pick yourself up. It doesn’t determine or dictate where I can go from there or say I should stay there. It just happens.

“I have a lot of kids that are looking up to me, so what kind of example would I set by just quitting? I’m going to keep doing it until I get it. I’m going to fail sometimes, but I’m going to keep doing it until I get it.”

Although Hall’s recent record looks grim on paper, he said it’s not so bad upon closer examination. He believes his past two losses to Mousasi and Derek Brunson were stopped slightly prematurely, which is why it makes it somewhat less difficult to get down on himself.

“I’ve been here before, the fight before that (an early stoppage) kind of happened,” Hall said. “It’s part of the business. There’s nothing I can say. As much as I can complain and (expletive) and moan, it is what it is. I didn’t hear the ref, he said he was screaming, ‘Fight back.’ I didn’t really hear him. Gegard was punching the (expletive) out of me, but I was like, ‘Alright, I’m good.’ I can take a punch. It’s what I do for a living. But it is what it is, man.”

Hall’s immediate goal going forward it simply to get back in the win column, but he isn’t forgetting about Mousasi for good. Their careers may currently be trending in different directions, but ultimately they still hold one victory over each other. If Hall can build himself back up, he said he would be more than anxious to get in the octagon with Mousasi one more time for a trilogy bout and settle the score once and for all.

“It’s 1-1,” Hall said. “I do think he deserves a title shot, though – he worked his ass off. Maybe down the line when he gets it, we’ll cross paths again. Nothing against the guy – he brings out the best in me. I’m sure I do to him. I’m sure after my last fight he said, ‘You know what? F this, man. I shouldn’t have lost to this guy.’ We’ve seen him win; he’s been dominating. I lit a fire under his ass. But I’m sure down the line, respectfully, I would like to go up against him again.”

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 99, check out the UFC Events section of the site.