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Ryan Hall set to fight Ilia Topuria at UFC 264: Poirier vs. McGregor 3 May 25, 2021, 6:00pm EDT
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It’s been almost two years since Ryan Hall’s last fight, but The Ultimate Fighter 22 winner looks to be finally ready to return to action.
MMA Fighting confirmed an earlier report from Adjara Sport that the featherweight veteran is set to face rising prospect Ilia Topuria at
Hall (8-1) has had a hard time both staying healthy and finding an opponent. His most recent appearance inside the Octagon was a unanimous decision over Darren Elkins in July 2019. The dangerous submission grappler memorably submitted B.J. Penn with a heel hook in 2018. Hall was initially scheduled to fight Ricardo Lamas last year, but it was postponed due to the pandemic and then cancelled when Ryan suffered an injury.
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Or what still could be.
For years, Oliveira insisted on making the cut down to featherweight, even as the battle with the scale challenged him as much as anyone that stepped into the cage with him. Oliveira missed the featherweight limit four times and a move to lightweight was preceded by an egregious miss of almost 10 pounds for a bout against Ricardo Lamas in November 2016.
Oliveira has won 10 of 11 fights since moving up a division and on Saturday at UFC 262, his lightweight journey culminated in him winning a vacant UFC title after finishing Michael Chandler with strikes in the second round. Even with a championship belt fresh around his waist, “do Bronx” told reporters at the evening’s post-fight press conference that he still sees a return to featherweight as a possibility.