Ex-UFC competitor Uriah Hall discusses why fighters like “great fu**ing guy” Colby Covington create a persona to sell fights: "It's like a video game"
Former UFC competitor Uriah Hall recently discussed why more fighters have been creating a persona in order to create buzz and sell fights. He noted that there has been a shift from when he began his career but understood that it has become part of the entertainment aspect of the sport.
The former TUF runner-up had a fairly successful career and defeated several former champions including Anderson Silva in his retirement fight. Despite the high profile wins, 'Primetime' never fought for the middleweight championship like others who may have been fast-tracked to a title shot for their trash talk.
During his appearance on The Casuals MMA last month, the former UFC middleweight named Colby Covington as an example of a fighter being forced to create a persona in order to receive more opportunities.
'Chaos' has admitted in the past that the promotion was going to cut him before his infamous post-fight interview in Brazil. Hall mentioned that the trash of some current fighters becomes relatable to the audience because of the perception that they can speak uncensored:
"For [fighters] to do what they had to do, it plays a certain character...it builds that entertainment. Like a Colby Covington. He's a great fu**ing guy. He was on his last contract in Brazil and motherfu**er was like, 'I need to start talking sh*t. Brazil's a dump'...So now, I personally feel it's like a character, it's like a video game. You know, this character comes with this...so it comes with good and bad." [35:44]
Check out the full episode featuring Uriah Hall below:
When did Uriah Hall last compete in the UFC?
Uriah Hall was an entertaining fighter to watch and had many highlight-reel knockouts on his resume and competed for the final time in 2022.
Hall's final bout took place at UFC 276 in 2022, where he lost a unanimous decision to Andre Muniz on the early prelims portion of the event. It was his second consecutive loss and would then officially announce his retirement from MMA the following month in a heartfelt Instagram post.
Check out the faceoff between Uriah Hall and Andre Muniz below: