UFC Fight Night 26 results and photos: John Howard returns to upset Uriah Hall

BOSTON – John Howard came into the fight with Uriah Hall as a sizable underdog, but left a winner thanks to a split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28) in front of his hometown crowd in his return to the UFC.

The middleweight bout took place today at UFC Fight Night 26 at Boston’s TD Garden. It aired on FOX Sports 1 following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and Facebook.

It probably won’t be in the running for “Fight of the Night,” but a workmanlike effort paid off for Howard nonetheless. He stayed consistently busy against Hall, keeping the Season 17 “Ultimate Fighter” finalist on the defensive for much of the bout, and ending a fairly slow-paced affair with a diving right hand that put an exclamation point on the final round.

“I would’ve taken this fight for free,” Howard said. “I like to fight strikers because I love to go out there and bang. Uriah is the type of guy that is willing to have a war. He did surprise me with the takedowns and he’s very dynamic on his feet. Fighting in my hometown of Boston is a dream come true for me, and I’m so thankful to the UFC for bringing me back.” 

“It was a great fight – not much else to say,” Hall said.

Hall (7-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC) has now lost two straight in the UFC, dating back to his disappointing performance against Kelvin Gastelum in the reality show finale. Howard (21-8 MMA, 5-3 UFC) gets his first UFC win since March of 2010.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 26 results include:

• John Howard def. Uriah Hall via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
• Michael Johnson def. Joe Lauzon via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-25)
• Michael McDonald def. Brad Pickett via submission (triangle choke) – Round 2, 3:43
• Conor McGregor def. Max Holloway via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
• Steven Siler def. Mike Brown via KO (punches) – Round 1, 0:50
• Diego Brandao def. Daniel Pineda via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Manny Gamburyan def. Cole Miller via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Ovince St. Preux def. Cody Donovan via KO (punches) – Round 1, 2:07
• James Vick def. Ramsey Nijem via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 0:58

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 26, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

John Morgan and Steven Marrocco contributed to this report on-site in Boston.