The MMA Daily

A pivotal fight in the Middleweight division takes place on the preliminary card, as Uriah Hall takes on Andre Muniz. Ranked ninth in the division, Hall returns to the octagon for the first time in 2022. Coming off a defeat to Sean Strickland, that saw a four-fight win streak halted, Hall will look to rebound over a fellow ranked fighter. Meanwhile, Muniz has taken the UFC by storm. A winner of eight straight, four of which have come inside the octagon, Muniz has quickly stamped his name as someone to keep an eye out for in the Middleweight division. With a victory here, assures that Muniz will be in the top ten.

After being dubbed the next Anderson Silva after competing on the Ultimate Fighter, Hall hasn’t quite lived up to those expectations. Of late though, he has resurged himself into the top ten of the division. A dynamic striker, who is quick and uses distance well, Hall is a threat to stand and trade with. Not exactly active on the feet, Hall resorts to being technical and precise with his strikes. With thirteen of seventeen wins coming via knockout, usually that approach leads to success. The opposite can be said about Muniz, who is a ground specialist. Not one to strike much, Muniz looks to get the fight to the mat. An area in which he has absolutely dominated, as fifteen of his wins have come via submission. Impressively enough, one of those submission victories was over Ronald Souza. A highly regard BJJ black belt who had never been submitted (broken arm) in his career up until that fight.

As for a prediction, I have Muniz winning. While Hall clearly has the edge on the feet, Muniz isn’t someone who will stick around long enough for Hall to pick him apart. Throughout Hall’s career, he has been relatively mediocre in fending off takedowns. In fact, despite his takedown defense being 65%, he has lost six of the nine fights he was taken down in. Make it seven, as I predict that Muniz takes Hall down and wins via submission.