Chael Sonnen casts his prediction for Uriah Hall vs. Sean Strickland
The UFC returns this Saturday with a middleweight bout between Uriah Hall and Sean Strickland on July 31st. They will be headlining UFC Fight Night: Hall vs. Strickland as both men try to break into the top five of the UFC's middleweight division.
Former UFC fighter Chael Sonnen revealed his prediction for the fight in a video uploaded to his YouTube channel. He said:
"Uriah Hall vs. Sean Strickland. Guys, I'm taking Uriah Hall, and this is going to be a fun one. This is a stand up fight, make no mistake. Both of these guys can handle themselves on the ground. Both of these guys are great at takedown defense. Neither of these are great at takedown offense. They don't wanna be."
Sonnen then proceeded to talk about Hall's stand-up game. Sonnen and Hall were teammates when he was still an active fighter, and he talked about Hall's speed from a personal point of view.
"Getting into a fistfight with Uriah Hall is a challenge. There's a speed issue. Uriah is lightning fast," Sonnen said.
However, at the age of 36, Hall is getting up there in terms of years. He is currently on a four-fight winning streak and will look to extend that, but Strickland is on a four-fight winning streak of his own. Additionally, Strickland has only lost three times in his entire career, while Hall has been on the wrong end of the result nine times.
Chael Sonnen makes another prediction for Uriah Hall vs. Sean Strickland
'The American Gangster' then spoke about the endurance of both Strickland and Hall and revealed that both of them have the capability of fighting for five rounds. Making another prediction, he said:
"I'm gonna make a further prediction. Whoever wins this fight is whoever wins the first round. If things don't go well in the very first round, they're not gonna get better."
Sonnen also talked about the fact that Strickland hasn't fought in a five-round fight in the UFC. On the other hand, Uriah Hall has been in two main events before. In the end, Sonnen gave the advantage to Uriah Hall because of his experience.
Watch the full video here: