Ex-UFC star Uriah Hall discusses how action star Michael Jai White taught spinning kick that finished Gegard Mousasi: "He's a genius"
Ex-UFC star Uriah Hall recently discussed how Michael Jai White taught him the spinning kick he used to defeat Gegard Mousasi. The African-American action star is a decorated martial artist and has been held in high regard by several MMA legends.
'Primetime' and Jai White were no strangers to each other, as they had sparred together, so the former TUF competitor picked up a few new moves. He showcased that in his 2015 clash against the former Strikeforce champion, which saw him land a powerful and perfectly timed spinning kick on Mousasi before finishing him with strikes in the second round. It was an impressive win for Hall and earned him a Performance of the Night bonus.
During his appearance on The Casuals MMA last month, the 40-year-old discussed how the action star played a major factor in his win over 'The Dreamcatcher'. Hall credited Jai White for teaching him the difficult maneuver after he suggested some helpful tips to catch his opponents off guard, which he then utilized against Mousasi:
"Michael Jai White taught me that [spinning] kick...I hit it like that to take off the fat. And he was explaining to move without telegraphing. The dude's a stud. He's a genius. The hardest sh*t I had to learn and he was like, 'You throw a great spinning back-kick. Here's how you do it where nobody can see it coming'."
Check out Uriah Hall's comments below:
Uriah Hall on Adam Cella's knockout
In addition to crediting Michael Jai White for the spinning kick he used on Gegard Mousasi, Uriah Hall also addressed the misconception of another spinning kick that went viral on TUF.
Hall famously knocked out Adam Cella with a powerful spinning kick that left him down for an extended period before he was conscious again. During the aforementioned appearance, 'Primetime' mentioned the knockout didn't affect him like the MMA community claims it did, however, it was his experiences with managers that constantly hindered his performances:
"I was going through so much sh*t and the stigma is everybody keeps saying, 'Yeah, Uriah wasn't the same after the knockout with Adam Cella'. First of all, that has nothing to do with anything, bro...How many fights did I have after that in the [TUF] house? Three fights?...That's how dumb people are...I was getting screwed all over. There was no proper guide, there was no people going, 'Alright, this is the road'."
Check out the full episode with Uriah Hall below [42:31]: