Ryan Hall has finally had his wish as now he’s been booked against a ranked UFC Featherweight fighter in Dan Ige. Originally confirmed by MMAFighting, the bout has been arranged for UFC Fight Night 187 on March 13th, although the location of the event has not yet been announced. It’s great news for all fans of the high-level leglock meta in MMA, as Hall is one of a tiny handful of MMA fighters who can confidently play that game against the best submission grapplers in the world.
Hall was most recently booked to compete against Ricardo Lamas back in August but was forced to withdraw from the fight at the last minute for undisclosed reasons. Lamas went on to defeat his late-notice replacement, Bill Algeo, by Unanimous Decision and Hall has not been able to find another fight since then, until now. He’s been very vocal with the fights that he does want however, and recently called out “The Korean Zombie”, Chan Sung Jung, who chose to compete against Brian Ortega instead.
The latest opponent for Ryan Hall, Dan Ige, was recently ranked within the top ten of the UFC Featherweight division until he fell short against Calvin Kattar in his most recent fight. This represents a fantastic opportunity for both men realistically, as a win over Hall will put Ige back on the path to title contender status as he edges back into the top ten. On the other hand, Hall has been dying to fight his way up the rankings and a win here could push him into the top ten as well, where he’ll be far more likely to get fights with the fighters who might be coming off losses at the very top of the division, like the loser of the upcoming Max Holloway v Calvin Kattar fight.
