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Uriah Hall (#8) and Sean Strickland (#11) both may be slow starters but they always come to fight and bring it every time. They are both coming off of 4 win streaks and I’m sure they will fight their hearts out to keep the W going.

Hall’s Strengths

• Solid jab
• Speed
• Power
• Good kicks
• Good grappling defense 

Hall’s Weaknesses

• Sometimes drop his hands down
• Falls under high pressure 

Strickland’s Strengths

• Toughness
• Knows when to put pressure
• Power
• Cage center control 
• Good grappling 

Strickland’s Weaknesses 

• Does not throw enough jab
• Sometimes have his chin up

What does Hall need to do to win?

Hall and Strickland are both slow starters, they both get stronger and more confident as the fight goes on. However, they approach their fights in two different fashions. While Strickland likes to take the center of the octagon and walk toward his opponents, Hall does the opposite, he stays on the outside jabbing and mostly throwing single shots to get the feel of the fight. Fortunately for Hall, he posses a solid jab and that will give him a huge advantage in the striking realm. Hall needs to frustrate Strickland with his jabs then throw teep kicks to get Strickland off his balance and look for opportunities to land more combos. While Strickland is a tough fighter, he does tend to get hit often, Hall needs to capitalize on this key by utilizing his speed and adapting “in and out” style (akin to Robert Whittaker’s movement). Hall needs to close the distance and strike Strickland then move away. This will make Strickland chase Hall and create opportunities for Hall to land spinning and switch kicks, both of which could be effective weapons against Strickland.

What does Strickland need to do to win?

Hall is a great counter fighter, but he tends to struggle under high pressure. Strickland on the other hand likes putting pressure on his opponents. With that being said, Strickland’s pressuring style is more or less constantly walking toward his opponents, which may not work against Hall. In fact, that is exactly what Hall wants Strickland to do so that he can counter Strickland. Hall is much faster and has better octagon awareness than Strickland. Therefore, Strickland cannot just move towards Hall, he needs to cut “corners” and force Hall to have his back up against the cage. Once Hall is backed up, Strickland needs to get close then throw a lot of body shots and at the same time look for opportunities to take Hall down. Ground and pound should be the main strategy for Strickland for this fight. Strickland is a much better grappler than Hall and he needs to embrace it to win this fight. 

Prediction

While both fighters possess the power to knock each other out at any given time, who wins this fight is largely dependent on who can establish and maintain their momentum first. Given that the fight will start on feet, I would have to give a slight advantage to Hall. I believe Strickland will have a harder time setting traps than for Hall to counter Strickland.