UFC 198's Uriah Hall says Anderson Silva matchup gives him 'overwhelming feeling'

Uriah Hall said he’s still in awe of the fact he’s going to fight former longtime UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 198.

“There’s a lot of overwhelming feeling right now where it’s excitement, it’s nervousness,” Hall told MMAjunkie Radio. “It’s like, ‘Oh my god, I’m fighting this dude. I’m so excited.’ Then it’s like, ‘Oh my god. I’m fighting this dude. What the (expletive)?’ It’s one of those (fights).”

Hall (12-6 MMA, 5-4 UFC) meets Silva (33-7 MMA, 16-3 UFC) in a featured middleweight bout at UFC 198, which takes place May 14 at Arena da Baixada in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

The booking came as somewhat as surprise to Hall. Despite “The Spider” currently being in the midst of a four-fight winless skid, the most recent of which was a unanimous decision loss to Michael Bisping at UFC Fight Night 84 in February, Hall wasn’t sure he would be considered in a position to face Silva.

Hall, No. 14 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA middleweight rankings, said he actually requested a fight with No. 6-ranked Bisping at UFC 200 but was instead countered with the matchup against Silva at UFC 198. Hall said he didn’t hesitate to accept because he felt it was a fight that fans are eager to witness.

“Everybody wanted to see it happen,” Hall said. “I kept getting tweets, all my friends kept saying it. I mean, it’s something the fans wanted. I texted (UFC matchmaker) Joe Silva one night, I was like, ‘Hey man, give me Bisping at UFC 200.’ He was like, ‘No, that’s not a good matchup. But there’s this guy.’ I was like, ‘Wow. Let’s do it. (Expletive) it.”

Hall is coming off a unanimous decision loss of his own to Robert Whittaker at UFC 193 in November. However, he said even with Silva’s recent struggles he feels he’s matched against an opponent with plenty of momentum. Hall said he scored the fight with Bisping in favor of the Brazilian and was complimentary toward aspects of Silva’s tactics that others have criticized.

“He expresses himself when he goes out there,” Hall said. “I’m kind of like that too. I’m free-spirited, free-minded. You look at his last fight – I thought he won. But on paper it says Bisping won. But I thought he won. People can say he was showboating, but it’s a (expletive) fight. … I thought (Bisping) got his ass beat. But it just goes to show you can’t leave it to the judges. They suck.”

Prior to Silva’s fight with Bisping, he was the victim of a heavy verbal assault from “The Count.” Bisping showered Silva with negativity due to failed drug tests that caused him to be suspended from competition for one year. Hall said he’s taking a different approach.

Not only does Hall carry almost exclusively positive feelings toward Silva, but he’s also taking extra steps to avoid any pre-fight drama.

Hall has spent the majority of recent training camps at King’s MMA in California under the watch of head coach Rafael Cordeiro. That won’t happen this time, though, because Cordeiro was formerly a coach of Silva and a decision was made to avoid any personal conflicts.

“I was doing (training) at King MMA, and I know Rafael Cordeiro was Anderson’s former coach,” Hall said. “For this camp I contacted him to say, ‘Hey man, is it even appropriate for me to come in?’ We agreed it would be a little awkward. I didn’t think too much into it. I just thought I would do my own thing. I’ll do the rest of my camp in Vegas at Xtreme Couture.”

No matter where Hall’s training camp takes place, he said he’s going to be ready to compete against and topple one of the greatest athletes in the sport’s history. There are many aspects of Silva’s style that can’t easily be prepared for, Hall said. So when he steps in the octagon on May 14 it’s going to be essential to quickly unpack Silva’s game and find the best avenue to victory.

“I’ve never seen his speed up close, but a guy like that, he doesn’t have to be fast,” Hall said. “He has grown-man strength. That means if he touches you, you can buckle. And at the same time, he has precision. That timing. He’s very good at what he does. I’m not going to take him lightly. But at the same time, he’s a man, and anybody’s beatable.”

For more on UFC 198, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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