UFC 193 results: Robert Whittaker outshines Uriah Hall for unanimous decision upset

Robert Whittaker

MELBOURNE, Australia – It wasn’t easy, but Robert Whittaker avoided most of Uriah Hall’s highlight-reel spinning stuff and threw some major offense himself for an upset win.

Whittaker (15-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC) made his home country fans happy with a unanimous decision win over Hall (12-6 MMA, 5-4 UFC), who took the UFC 193 bout on short notice when Michael Bisping had to pull out with an injury.

The middleweight bout was part of the main card of today’s UFC 193 event at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Whittaker went straight after Hall, slinging a right hand that had Hall turned around and ducking out of the way. Whittaker tried to work some kicks, then fired off a left hand. Hall stayed patient in the center of the cage, looking for an opening. But 50 seconds in, Hall got tagged by a right hand from Whittaker that came lightning-fast. Hall went to work with kicks, hoping to keep Whittaker at a little more distance, and it led to a Superman punch effort from Whittaker.

A faked spinning kick from Hall gave Whittaker something to think about – but just long enough for him to wing a couple more rights that were off the mark. But right after that, Hall threw a series of spinning attempts that led to him slipping to his back, which gave Whittaker an opportunity to work from up top. Whittaker got to side control with 90 seconds left, then jumped to mount briefly before Hall could buck him off. When Hall tried to reverse out from Whittaker’s top position, Whittaker took Hall’s back. Hall got back to top position with 10 seconds left, but not before he had dealt with a strong first five minutes from the underdog.

Whittaker stayed aggressive in the second, though his pace slowed a bit. Not long after a high kick attempt from Hall, Whittaker threw a left hand that had Hall grabbing at his right eye. Referee Steve Perceval called time for Hall to have his eye looked at – though replays showed Whittaker’s punch was with a closed fist. The two traded kicks on the restart, and Hall looked to be loading up for something. A kick to the body with 90 seconds left in the frame could’ve been a momentum starter for Hall, but he remained tentative.

Hall finally showed some urgency in the third, but he got caught by Whittaker and Whittaker poured it on. As he tried to recover against the fence, Whittaker wrapped him up and stomped his feet before punching back to the body. Hall finally spun around with 90 seconds left and tried to fight his way out, but a Whittaker elbow led to the break. Back in the middle, though, Hall put together his best offense of the fight with kicks and a flying knee.

Midway through, Whittaker, with blood running from his nose, appeared to be wearing down. Two more head kicks landed for Hall, but Whittaker stayed right in the pocket throwing punches. Whittaker took over late in the frame and landed a brief takedown just before the horn to seal the deal. Whittaker got a pair of 30-27 scores and a 29-28.

Whittaker ran his winning streak to four, which has come after back-to-back losses to Court McGee and Stephen Thompson. Hall had a two-fight winning streak snapped with the upset loss.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 193 results include:

• Robert Whittaker def. Uriah Hall via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Jared Rosholt def. Stefan Struve via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Jake Matthews def. Akbarh Arreola via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) – Round 2, 5:00
• Kyle Noke def. Peter Sobotta via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 2:01
• Gian Villante def. Anthony Perosh via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 2:56
• Danny Martinez def. Richie Vaculik via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Daniel Kelly def. Steve Montgomery via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Richard Walsh def. Steven Kennedy via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• James Moontasri def. Anton Zafir via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:36
• Ben Nguyen def. Ryan Benoit via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:35

For complete coverage of UFC 193, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan and Steven Marrocco contributed to this report on site in Melbourne.)