
From homelessness to UFC stardom and everything in between! 🥋💥 In this raw and riveting episode of the Digital Social Hour, Sean Kelly sits down with Uriah Hall to uncover the untold story of his rise from eating out of garbage cans to becoming...
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B
Remember going, ah, man, I used to train with Sean. I don't want to fight Sean. All right? Now he's ranked 13. At least give me top five. I'm eight. Something, something, something. You got to do it. UFC doesn't like when you say no. And I'm like, all right, I'll do it. And it's right there. I checked out, so I didn't want to do it.
C
Hey, there he is. We got your eye haul here today. Fresh off a training session.
B
That's right.
C
Let's go, man. What you training for?
B
For life, bro. Yeah, fat. After I retired a little bit. You know, it's one of those cases where I see a lot of people let themselves go. A bunch of my friends, I'm not gonna say who, but I didn't want to fall into that category. And it's so easy to just go down that sparrow, you know, you. You follow a routine, and I'm good with structure. So out here in Vegas, decided just go to PI My friend just invited me, which is weird because I'm the guest. I used to bring the guest, now I'm the guest.
C
Yeah. Times have changed.
B
Yeah.
C
I saw you say on another show you were 230 pounds. You had to lose 30 pounds in what, three weeks for that last boxing match you had?
B
Yeah, for. What's this? Julio. Julio, yeah. Julio Caesar Savage.
C
That's nuts.
B
Yeah, I mean, you know what? I got off the couch. The fight. Coulda, woulda, shoulda. Of course the boxer is always gonna talk smack. But I look at it this way. For getting off the couch, fighting a world former world champ, I didn't have anything to lose. And in my mind, I'm like, oh, he's Mexican. I'm gonna fight like a Mexican. What Mexicans do, they walk at you. But this fool was running and hitting. I'm like, all right, it's a tactic, man. Because I think he was trying to fight Jake Paul. He's just trying to secure the wind. So I was just Like, I'm just gonna walk at him and just do what I do. I had some injuries, of course, I was standing upright, so I couldn't really utilize my frame as much as I could, but it was a good learning experience. Yeah, I take nothing away.
C
I saw you say about the fight, you felt like boxing's pretty rigged overall.
B
Oh, yes, Rick, dude, I mean, come on, man. There's so many politics. Even with, you know, mma, man, there's so many politics. It's going away from the art. There's no more art anymore. It's just. Let's get an influencer in there. Let's. I get. It's like generating money because our attention span is so short. You look at clips now, it's like seven seconds.
C
Yeah.
B
You know, I saw a dude slamming a lady the other day, and they were like, oh, my God, that dude is. I'm like, well, what the bitch do? I'm just going to pick somebody and slam them, you know, where's the whole video? And our attention span is just so small. So money talks. Of course. Yeah. Let's get an influencer in there. Who has no fucking style, but it draws attention. It's just dumb to me. So.
C
I agree, though. You see people get arrested on. On social media, but you don't see what leads up to that arrest.
B
Nothing. But that's how I. I personally feel. We're just dumbing down if we're not careful. And God forbid you speak the truth. Oh, shut up. Oh, you're not with us. Like, bro, it's called freedom of speech.
C
Right?
B
This is America, man. This shit is built on that. You can't even be yourself anymore. So I try to separate myself and just step away from.
C
Did you feel pretty censored when you were fighting professionally? Of what you could say publicly?
B
Not too much. But I knew that a lot of fighters get certain type of treatments, you know? Before I left ufc, I was trying to fight this guy named Darren Till.
C
Yeah.
B
And they were protecting the fuck out of him. And, like, I mean, he was in Abu Dhabi training. I'm trying to get the fight. He was ranked six, I was ranked eight. He lost four in a row. I won four in a row. I'm like, how the fuck is he ahead of me? Don't get me started on the ranking system. I don't even know who's in charge of that. But I'm trying to fight him. You know, he has a big name, big following in Britain or whatever, and I'm like, I can take him out because I'm trying to get the title contingency. You know, I was trying to fight Alex, not to take anything away from him, but I'm a kickboxer, man. I left kickboxing for MMA because for me at the time it felt too easy. But it's like, you can't say that, like, but I'm a fighter. I'm not supposed to be confident. Like, these people are so fucking dumb, man. But there's a lot of politics and sometimes you got to play the game. You look at a guy like Colby Covington, nicest dude on earth, but he's got to talk some shit. Fucking sucks.
C
Yeah.
B
So it's like video games. It's like, we want this character Sean O'Malley O'Connor, you know, and nobody cares anymore. So it's like, where's the art? It's not martial arts, it's just fighting.
C
Yeah.
B
Which is cool, but I don't know, I stand for something else.
C
It's like entertainment at this point, right? Yeah. Because you don't have any control on who you fight once you're rising, right?
B
No. And then, you know, some people are just hand picking, so there's building blocks. Some fighters are like, all right, he's got potential, let's give him some easy fights. When Con was coming up, man, they gave him all short dudes, like, come on, bro, jab all day. So not to take anything away from that, but the sport just picks people because if they favorite you, if you have a certain way of talking, can you be yourself? And then you have some of these fans who are kind of idiots just like, oh my God, he's so honest. Let me live.
A
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B
Vicariously through him, it's, it's just, it makes me not want to do it. But my competitive nature, my competitive side is like, I'm not done. You know, I still didn't fulfill what I really, really, really wanted to do.
C
Yeah. So you felt like you left some on the table?
B
Oh, hell yeah, man. I didn't want to retire. I was 39. I had a lot in the tank.
C
39, 40 now. Yeah.
B
But, you know, I have a lot in the tank. I mean, look at Anderson. He's 10 years my senior and this moved like he's 25. That's true. And the last thing he said to me when we fought was like, you know, train your mind. You know, don't just focus on your body. Train your mind getting older. So that's one of the things that you, you have to preserve mine. Your mind is the greatest thing on your body. This is really what you own only and we all in our own reality. So I know I have more in the tank. Is it my ego talking? Maybe. But I know if my ego's in front of me, is leading me, I have that guy behind. But for me, I just know I have more to kind of go out there and say if I walk away from this completely, am I, am I good? Can I, can I leave and say I'm good? Because the worst thing you want to live with is regret, man.
C
Absolutely.
B
Could have, shoulda, woulda.
C
Yeah. With all the advancements in health. Yeah. There's athletes going to their 40s now. Like LeBron.
B
Yeah. Oh, man. And I was so depressed after retiring, dude, contemplate suicide. I mean, damn, it was. I want to leave my house when I say I sat on the couch for a week, fat, I was bearded, gut. And then going outside, I didn't want to see anybody. And then you look at you differently. Oh, you, you know, you used to be, you know, oh, you used to be famous. Or, you know, it's Uriah, just Uriah. Now you're not Uriah the fighter. And that with you, if you don't have the right people around you to be like, oh, dude, don't even worry about that. And of course, people aren't saying the right thing, like, hey, do you need anything? Hey, are you okay? It was more of, like, how much money you got, man? Like, or, what are you gonna do? So that part sucked. But as you know, Steve Jobs says, you look back, all the dots are connected. So looking back, it's like, all right, who are my confidants? Who are my constituents? Who was there to see me at my worst and then kind of be there? As my friends and one of my mentor always told me, you got to stop calling people friends, man. Like, just throw that word out so easily, you know, A friend is someone you can call at 5 in the morning, like, hey, man, I'm stuck in Brazil. Oh, okay, let me get on the next plane. People that you don't have to explain yourself to. So I really saw that towards the end of my career in the UFC of who was really there to kind of pick me up because I was alone and I didn't know what to do. And when I say thinking about not being here anymore, it sucked. And of course, that small voice was like, don't be a bitch. Don't do it. You know? And I had to listen to that voice, but it was hard. That voice was fading. And, you know, if I die, if I had died, still would have been Traffic on the 405. Life goes on. So I just. I. I know. I just couldn't go out like that, man.
C
That's deep. Yeah. Because in your prime, you probably thought you had a ton of friends, right?
B
Oh, yeah, dude. They scattered, man. Scattered like cockroaches. But it's a good thing, because then you know who was there for you. And I learned a lot stepping away from fighting, even though I did boxing, just stepping away from the limelight because I'm very real and honest, and it's dimmed down upon right now. Oh, you can't be too honest. You can't be yourself or you don't like this, you're not a part of this. If I say, oh, I like oranges, so what you're saying is mangoes and tomatoes are bad. You can say that, like, people are so fucking stupid, bro. You can't even talk to anybody.
C
Yeah.
B
So no one's listening to understand. Basically, everyone's just listening to reply. If these fucking dumbass politicians would just listen to understand, which is what this fucking country is made on our differences to just understand, to move forward will be great. Like that whole Make America Great again, which. When was this shit great again? Yeah, okay.
C
Yeah, yeah, that was a movement. You see what's going on in Cali right now? Holy crap.
B
Oh, yeah, I just left.
C
Oh, you were there?
B
Yeah, I was there. Damn. Cali. But a lot of houses burning down. I mean, there's a lot of wildfires, right? It's like if it snows in New York every winter. We get prepared for the ice. Yeah, we're not. You're not prepared for this. We're not prepared for fire. Like, if you know this is coming, we got to be prepared. Where the. All that money going shows you how much these politicians gives a.
C
It's going to people's.
B
I feel terrible, man, because these people, you know, this is your home. A lot of people live there their whole life, and it's like, you know, so let's see how great this fucking place is gonna be to help people.
C
At the very minimum, there should have been water in the fire hydrants.
B
What the fuck? Was that all. How do you not have water and a fire hydrant?
C
Yeah, that's crazy.
B
Makes no sense.
C
Yeah. It also seems weird to me how there's so many fires at the same.
B
Time and people are starting fire, so now we got these idiots. Like, hey, maybe I can catch in on this. Yeah, I'm sure God is up there. Like, Jesus, you die for these motherfuckers. Really.
C
La, man. A lot of mismanagement going on in Cali. It's a shame.
B
But there's some good in the world, though, man. As much as, you know, the negative affirmation, the negativity is there. One of my good friend always told me, you always. You got to focus on the good. And like my mom said, listen, don't let the world change you. You be that change. You got to be that light. And it's hard, challenging, because you're always going to have people in traffic just getting mad at you and all that. We're all going through our own, man. But if we just take the time to be a little bit considerate, I speak for myself as well. We can move forward.
C
Yeah. Yeah. It's good to have that mindset. I. I know you had humble beginnings, right, in Jamaica.
B
Oh, absolutely, man. I grew up poor, man. I grew up literally one pair of shoes.
C
Did you know that at the time that you were poor, though?
B
No, that's the thing. Until I came to America, you know, I didn't even know what racism was till I came here. What do you mean? I'm black, you know, I. I had no idea what the fuck racism was. And of course, in New York City of all places, did this to me, you know, and friends and, you know, how I dressed, you know. You know how kids are. Just mean.
C
Yeah.
B
I never got picked on in school. In fact, in Jamaica, I think the kid that picked on me, my dad came there, whooped his ass, really. Which is normal. Not here, though, you know, you get arrested. Yeah. But back there, my dad came, like, with my son again. See what happens, you know, there's repercussions. Never picked on me again. But America kind of opened my eyes, obviously gave me a lot of opportunities. It made me where I am today. I'm not going to take anything from that. But at the time, not having that father figure coming in at a young age, which is 13, which is a crucial age, New York City was just a tough place to just kind of, you know, embark me on just no guidelines. And then school, getting picked on, I didn't understand it. I'm like, this is a new culture, new language. Like, what is this bullying? And I fell into it deep because I didn't know how to respond to it. Never got bullied in Jamaica, so it got me to lose confidence in myself. And then martial arts made me rediscover that. And 20 years later, I'm hurting people for a living. I love getting paid.
C
So your father stayed back when you came to New York?
B
Yeah, I mean, you know, I don't talk to him as much, but he's still down there. It's. It's changed, man. All my friends are literally dead.
C
Whoa.
B
I'm pretty sure if I was there, I'd be dead, too.
C
In Jamaica.
B
They're done in Jamaica.
C
Wow.
B
Almost everybody I grew up with, you know, the culture is, is a little different again. It's home. I can't sit here and be like, I can't. You know, it's my home. It's. It's my heritage. But it's changed so much. You know, guys like me going down there. I don't see myself playing a hero. Perspect, you know, because it's such a high level poverty. It's not everywhere, of course, because there's some rich areas, not just wealthy in money, but just wealthy in a cultural perspect. But it's just change. And I left when I was 13, so I don't remember.
C
Damn. So I didn't know.
B
She goes there all the Time. She's a badass. She's the sweetest lady in the world. She's like, I don't give a. I'm going down.
C
I think women have it a little easier, right?
B
Yeah. But I don't know, man. Media, bro, you know, you see some things from a different perspective. At least here to have rights.
C
Yeah.
B
Or you can't just, you know, be doing me too stuff, you know, I've never done any stuff like that, so. Yeah, but I just know stuff like that happen. I've had friends that talk to me and say they've been harassed. I'm like, what? And it sucks, you know, to be violated and not being able to have the courage to speak up, you know, it's. It sucks. Yeah, I know. If something like that happened to my mom, my sister, I'm going to jail. That's not even a conversation like, who did it? Okay, I'm going to jail. But it sucks. A lot of women can't even speak about stuff like that. They got to kind of live with it, do this.
C
Yeah, there's. There's always going to be that human abuse of power, right?
B
Yeah.
C
With certain positions, we're dangerous.
B
Men. Men are dangerous. But I encourage a lot of people to. To. To. To learn how to defend themselves. You know, I used to teach. I think it's so empowering to know how to defend. It's like. It's like having a driver's license. You know, you're driving, you have a license because you qualified, you know? So if you learn how to defend yourself, it builds your confidence.
C
Oh, yeah.
B
And I trained some of these women. Like, two of them are my doctors. One of the coolest thing one of my doctors said to me, she was like, listen, I went from clenching my purse to, I wish a motherfucker would. And it builds your confidence just to know how to defend yourself 100%.
C
And confidence is so important. I. I was pretty athletic growing up, but the one thing I lacked was confidence. My father left the house when I was fourth grade, so I was like 10 years old. But I was just never confident in my abilities.
B
How did you feel like you, You. You regained that through success?
C
Yeah, I think that comes with just success, whether it's financial or, like, physical.
B
Oh, absolutely.
C
You know, that's what happened with you, right? With you?
B
Yeah, absolutely. It was just. Again, looking back, it's like everything. There were times where I was homeless. I remember eating out of garbage can. I did. I remember going out with my friends and I ate the ketchup Packets because, you know, they were like, why are you eating ketchup? Oh, I want sugar right now. I had to lie. And looking back, it's like, shit, I forgot I went through all that. And no one knows this shit. Not a lot of people do, but we're all going through our own shit. I'm not going to say my life was worse than yours, but if I don't learn something to make my life a better version so I can become a better version of myself, that I'm wasting it. Yeah, shit happens, man. But my mom always said, life is happening. You just got to pay attention.
C
And you were homeless in New York City, man.
B
It was like, maybe get a big fight in my brother. I think I left the house around maybe 17.
C
Wow.
B
And yeah, and I was in the martial arts school and I slept at the gym and I was cleaning it and I just remember they didn't have hot water and I was taking cold showers in the winter. Geez, I'm talking like. And in New York, when it's cold, it's cold. And we're talking cold shower. I slept in my office. And you know, when everyone went home, especially on holidays, go out, it was some harsh times. But there was a moment that I remember sitting down, I just looked down at the floor and I said, I don't want to do this anymore. You know, and at some point in all our lives, we're going to have that moment. We're like, you know what? I'm sick and tired of this character. And that was it for me. And I think there's different phases because before I did the ultimate Fighter, I got fired from my job and I was. I had nothing. I remember having 200 bucks and I asked for 400 from my sister and I bought a one way ticket to the ultimate fighter show. Tried out, and over 800 people had the same idea. But I had no way to come home. And I said, I'm gonna beg on the street. That's how important this was to me. So looking back at that show, I did well. Yeah. I was at a place where I was hungry. Did I lose that hunger a little bit after leaving Ultimate Fighter? Maybe. But I know one thing for sure, that I was surrounded by a lot of idiots, a lot of people that weren't there for me. And there was no guidelines. People, hey, don't go here. But I do remember Dana saying this to me when I. When, when the show was coming out. He's like, hey man, people are gonna come after you. You gotta be careful. I Didn't know what that meant. Cause I'm. I'm from New York, bro. What's up? But that just meant people coming out to me, using me and stuff like that. And I didn't have that guideline. And, you know, shit happened and made friends, lost friends, and now I'm here. But I just. I don't know, I'm curious because I'm like a sponge and I always try to learn. I'm always like, what is this teaching me? Even the worst circumstance situation. And my mom taught me this. You gotta pay attention. What is this teaching you? And sometimes you're just an idiot. It doesn't mean it's teaching you something. You're just a fucking idiot. But just pay attention because life is happening, man. Because if I walk out here right now, I could die like this. And life is going on. But I think we just forget as human beings to just appreciate. We hear it, we're like, yeah, that's cool. But if something traumatic happens, like this fire stuff now. Oh, pray for this. Pray for the now. We pray because it's happening. I don't know, man. I think if we had to line up a bunch of planets, we'd be at the bottom.
C
Yeah. There's lessons in everything, man.
B
Oh, yeah.
C
People don't take time to actually think about why it's happening to them things.
B
Yeah, yeah.
C
That victim mindset's dangerous.
B
Oh, dude.
C
It's easy to make excuses.
B
It is. But I don't know, I think as I'm getting older, I still have that competitive nature. It's still there. I mean, I go over to 20 year olds, I always spar them because I'm like, they're hungry, right? They're going to be honest with me. They're coming after me to kill me. So I'm like, my ego's over here. Let's go, bro. I don't get mad at him. I don't try to. I use that fuel to better myself. Because when I'm in there with someone my age, I'm like, okay, you know, makes you better. Yeah. And some people are like, oh, yeah, you were old. I'm like, I don't even know what that means, bro. In my mind, I'm 28. I still move the same, I'm still fast. Those twitch muscles still there. Obviously I can't do this forever. I've seen some people struggle with that head trauma. You know, you don't want to take punches at 45, but I just know I still have more in a tank.
C
Yeah, yeah. That head trauma's no joke, especially with boxers, man. Oh, my gosh.
B
Yeah. I mean, it's. It's different for everybody. You know, like a guy like Mayweather, I mean, he's still doing it. He was 57, whatever.
C
And he never got knocked out, though, right?
B
It's. Again, it's how you. You fight those brawlers that go out there. I'm a sniper. I'm like, all right, let's wait for the kill. We're done. Let's leave. So everyone's different, though. But as a warrior, I can sit here and tell you that as much as someone go out there and say, you know, I'm just gonna, you know, be barbaric and just. That's their style, man. It's entertaining. That's their style. I'm not here to cramp your style. That's who you are as a warrior. As a Whatever, you know, I'm a different type of warrior, and if I couldn't explain it, like, guns. There's sniper guns, there's bazooka, there's rocket launchers. Like, the heavyweights are like, rocket launcher. Yeah, I'm like that. One shot kill.
C
Jon Jones, right?
B
Yeah. You know a guy like that. So, Teresa.
C
Yeah. Jones is thinking about retirement right now.
B
Oh, he is?
C
Yeah.
B
I thought I was a fluke.
C
No, Dana just said it yesterday.
B
Oh, shit. I mean, I get it. I get it. Who's that? Tom.
C
Tom Aspinall.
B
Aspinall.
C
He's calling him out, right?
B
I mean, here's my thought on that. I feel like that dude's a dork. I just feel like the way he's doing it, I get it, but it's like, bro, who the fuck did you fight? You know? And it's like, not that I'm on Team Jones or anything, which I am, but it's just. I don't know. I think if he was a little bit more respectful, I think Jones would have gave it to him.
C
But.
B
But Jones like, motherfucker, who the fuck are you? Coming in here demand shit. And of course, all those fucking Brits. Yes, you motherfuckers are all on his side, talking about you're scared. Ain't no fighter scared, bro. Like, that baffles me when someone tells a fighter they're scared. Like you're stepping in there in your tights, putting your brain cells on the fucking line. There's nothing that I'm scared of. You crazy?
C
Yeah. I think scared's the wrong word. I think maybe like nerves, a little nervousness, but not scared.
B
I Don't even think so either. I think a lot of it is business. I mean, the guy is fucking Jon Jones, the greatest of all time.
C
Yeah.
B
You down here, bro. At least get to here. I see Jones fighting Francis. That makes sense. But it's like, let's say he lose, it's like, all right, what do I gain? What do I gain? Nothing from this. I gain nothing from this. And he even said, I want to fight big fights, bro. You're little to me. And you see how the UFC is. They're trying to push that. Oh, it's your time, bro. That's what they're doing, bro. They push the people that will bring in the money. And then, you know, Britain to have all those crazy ass fans. Yes, I said it. You know, it's like they're like, yeah, every time they fight their man. It's nuts over there.
C
Yeah. So it's because they don't have as many. Like the US has so many fighters, so. Yeah, you know, we get kind of numb to it, right?
B
Yeah, Any. Any fight fighter outside of us. Oh, my God, they got fans.
C
Yeah.
B
Dagestani. Jesus Christ.
C
Yeah. McGregor. Korean zombie.
B
Yeah. Dude. It's like, what country is this? You know?
C
Yeah. So you never had, like, you never got in your head before a fight, like, because you fought some of the top guys in the world, you never got a little nervous?
B
I've gotten. Oh, yeah. I've got nervous for every fight. Just to walk alone is the scariest thing for me at least, because when I'm walking from point A to point B in the ring, I'm like, what the am I doing here? I could be home playing video games, but, you know, walk in there, I'm gonna potentially get killed or kill someone. And, you know, there's a stigma of. Oh, Uriah, what did he say after that Ultimate Fighter kick? I wasn't the same. Which, if you do the math, this is how dumb people are. The kick happened the first fight. Right. And then I beat three people effortlessly after that. So if that was the case, wouldn't that be backwards? Yeah, because I knocked him out first. I beat everybody else. Yeah, it makes no sense. It doesn't make sense, but that's how dumb people are. They always. We're always trying to find. We create our own scenario of the problem. Like, this has to be it. This is the problem. Did you talk to me? What's wrong with you? Why didn't you fight the way you used to fight? Well, I was in a different environment. First of all, I don't owe you an explanation, but I was in a different environment, you know, I was in a house with 16 people. Let's just create the scenario. 16 people, you're in a house. You can't really go anywhere but just outside. The only transportation is from the gym to the house. You get unlimited food. There's a closet full of alcohol. This camera is literally everywhere, bro. It took me forever to take a shit because the fucking camera is in the bathroom. I'm like, yo, can y'all move that camera? Oh, don't worry about it. It's only for if two people go in the bathroom. The bathroom. And now I have people that I live with that I have to fight. And after that kick, you know what happened after that kick? My own team was looking at me like, oh, shit, we might have to fight this guy. So my own team was kind of against me, and then the other team was kind of against me. So I was an outsider, you know? And then I was like, wait, this is called the Ultimate Fighter, not the Ultimate Friends. So it just changed my mindset. And I was like, I'm gonna kill all you motherfuckers. But. But I was in a desperate place in my life. I had literally nothing. So when I went in there, I went in there with my skill set and my ambition to just kill. Now, leaving the show, I might have got a little comfortable because I was like, oh, okay, I got a little money. Now I can breathe. And I might have let go of that a little bit. But what I'm gonna not blame is my mentality. I have a strong mentality. I broke my hand in a fight and I kept going. I broke my fucking toe in a fight and I kept going. Damn. My mentality is not something to question. The days that I don't show up to fight, and this is how I figure out who I was. Fights that don't intrigue me, that pose a challenge to me. I shut down. I didn't know that. It's like Goku from Dragon Ball Z. Yeah. If I didn't feel that, then I psychologically psyched myself out for some reason.
C
Right? You fought down to their level.
B
Yeah. And then it doesn't intrigue me anymore. And then I don't show up. So now it's like, oh, you're right. It has a mental problem. Now you can say, well, that is a man. No, it's not, motherfucker. Do you fight? Do you see other fighters saying that? No other fighters say that. It's just dumb idiots that don't Fight. Say that or jujitsu dorks. But it's. You know, those fights that I didn't want to take, I lost. You know, you argue with the matchmaker. I don't want to do this fight, man. This makes no sense, because in my mind, I'm like, I'm trying to get to the title contingency. Oh, we got to give you this grappler. I'm like, but he's going to try to hold me. I'm not scared of him, but I know their game. Ain't no grappler. Going to fight me. They're going to try to hug me and shit.
C
It's a boring fight to watch.
B
It's a boring fight. It's a fight, but it's a. Come on, bro. We got a fight. We're going to hug. And nothing against Jiu Jitsu, because, you know, I have a Jiu Jitsu coach, but I just know that style. It's not there to fight, it's there to win.
C
Yeah.
B
And right before the last two fights in the ufc, that's when I was trying to get Darren Till, and they were protecting him. They didn't want to give him him. And I was ranked 8. And I knew. I knew if I beat him, I would get. I'll be top. I'll be five. And if you're top five, that's automatic title contingency. You either fight, 1, 2, 3, 4. And, you know, to me, that's, like, right there.
C
Yeah.
B
So I'm trying to just do. From a business standpoint, didn't want to get me in. And that's when they gave me Sean Strickland. And I remember going, ah, man, I used to train with Sean. I don't really want to fight Sean. All right, now he's ranked 13. At least give me top five. I'm eight. Something, something, something. You gotta do it. UFC doesn't, like when you say no, and I'm like, all right, I'll do it. And it's right there. I checked out because I didn't want to do it. Now, the worst thing that happened that night was I was in hospital because I had a bad weight cut, which we kept on the wraps.
C
Because you don't want to lose the money.
B
Yeah. Because if you don't fight, you don't get paid.
C
Right.
B
So I was in icu. I. I had a. I did salt bath the week before. And if, you know salt bath, you pull out the water.
C
Yeah.
B
And, you know, my. My coach helped me realize this. He was like, yeah, you shouldn't have done that because if you're going to cut the weight that week, you did this before. You took out more water than you should have. But I was doing it for recovery and fight week. I'm cutting the weight and around 187, 88, I was like, oh, man, I'm feeling so well because I got to be 185. And I'm like, shit, I know this feeling. But I toughed it out. You don't fight. And after the weigh ins, I mean, I remember looking at Sean going, oh, man, I'm about to collab. But you, I'm not showing it.
C
Wow, you were. That week.
B
I was so weak. I was faking it. I mean, I was faking it. I deserve an Oscar for that. I was faking it. And then we got back to the hotel and my coach was like, you know, just take a nap. I'm like, coach, I don't feel good. He's like, just, just take a sleep, blah, blah, blah. I'm like, nah, man, I know this feeling. I don't feel good. He's like, all right, let me check back with you in 10, 20 minutes. Came back, I was like, coach, I don't feel well. There's a not here. I'm just cramping. We kept on wraps and went to the hospital. Put me on a bag couple. But before that, some guy came in, this doctor came in and was like, hey, man, your levels are way too low. Point something. I, I don't know the term, but he's like, your levels are so low, you cannot fight, you can die. And this other doctor came in, not going to say who, said, let's keep him overnight, let's put him on some more iv. Let's leave him longer on iv. So I was on IV more. And then I got out of the hospital at 2:00am Fight day. Exactly. You know, so I'm, I feel good. I go back to the hotel. I got there maybe three. I mean, fight was like later that evening anyway, so I had time to rest. But in the back of my mind I'm like, did I fully recover? You know, that fucked with me a little bit.
C
Yeah, you need good sleep.
B
Yeah. So whatever felt good went in there. Literally three, four punches in the first round. My fucking orbital breaks by Sean because he has an awkward way of throwing punches. Now, you can't freak out. I'm not letting the doctors, the ref sees it because they can stop the fight. And I'm like, ah, shit. Are you serious? My fucking orbital. You need Your vision to see. You need your eyes to see in the fight. So Sean, he's a killer. And I'm like, oh, shit. And I'm just trying my best to maneuver. There was a moment where I looked at my coach. He kind of saw what was happening, and he just gave me that now, like, don't quit, man. And I'm like, are you serious? The night before, I had that, and now this. This makes no sense. So I'm not gonna take anything away from Sean. He's a stud. He's a champ. You know, it was just not my night. And talk about stuff like that, it's like, excuses. Well, it was my excuse, I guess, because, you know, I didn't cut the weight properly. I blame myself. Sure, I get my orbital broken. Not much I can do for that. But I might have lost that fight. But I felt I won the war with myself because I didn't quit. And I don't know how to quit. That's what people don't understand. I don't know how to quit. Like people say, I actually don't know how to quit. Something I was taught at young age, like, you finish it, either do it well or don't do it. I don't have a gray. Like, I either don't do it or I do it the best possible. So not having the right people around me to do this. And a lot of these fighters, that's what they have, man. Yeah, they have the right coaching, the right this, the right that. When you have all that support system, of course you're gonna go up, but you also gotta have that hunger for it, too, you know? And I kind of lost that because the sport was changing, man. It was. The martial art was no more art to me. And it was just like, you got to play a character. I remember one time saying some stuff, and some fan was like, bro, that's not you. What am I doing?
C
So, yeah, you got to talk smack in the press conferences.
B
It's not me, man. And the press guys, they know that. Oh, is you, right? Because I'm honest. I'm like, yo, don't ask me any stupid question. What the you mean, how do I feel? What do you think? Yeah, after wake up. What do you mean, how do I feel? I feel great. So, yeah, it was difficult to work with. That's what they say. It's like, yeah, because I'm honest. I ask questions. I say, why? Someone's going to tell you, jump off this cliff. Why? Just do it. Yeah, but why? That's made me Difficult, because I asked questions.
C
You were like the Kyrie Irving of the ufc.
B
Yeah. Is that what he does?
C
Yeah, you know, Kyrie.
B
Kyrie, basketball player. Yeah, he's on the Dallas.
C
Yeah. He's on the Mavericks now, but the media always hated him.
B
Really?
C
Yeah, because he would just give honest answers.
B
Yeah, Honesty is not good these days. It's a bad thing to be honest. Like, what the fuck?
C
He was the first, like, NBA player, maybe even pro athlete to be anti vaccine and.
B
Really?
C
Yeah. They, like, suspended him and everything.
B
I didn't want to do that shit, man. I had to leave the country and I did. It's the dumbest shit ever.
C
Oh, they made you do it?
B
Leave the country, bro.
C
Oh, for Abu Dhabi, right?
B
No, no, no. I had to go to the Netherlands or something. Oh, you just can't leave the country. But I got the cheapest one, so I'm hoping it fades out.
C
Yeah, man. Well, Sean went on to be the champ, so. At least.
B
He did. He did. He did.
C
It was a good run for him. Made you look better, probably.
B
I mean, you know Sean. My coach will say, you know Sean, you're the only one that Sean tried to take down.
C
Right.
B
He don't try to take anybody else down. I'm like, listen, I'm not trying to take anything away from him. We used to train back in the day, though.
C
Yeah.
B
And, you know, I was always getting with spinning kicks. And when we train at extreme Couture, he was like, hey, man, do any spicks on me, bro? And he would just bum buush me and take me down. So I never had, like, a bad relationship with Sean. It was always like, this mutual respect from a combative sense. You know, I. I can't say anything about him. Obviously. He's out there doing his weird. Yeah, but that's his character. That's. That's who he is.
C
At least he's himself.
B
You know, he's himself. And how many people are themselves so.
C
Not many.
B
I'm rooting for him, man. You know, he does his thing.
C
Which fight do you think about the most, win or loss?
B
It probably that fight.
C
Sean Strickland.
B
Yeah. Because I wasn't myself, and I just knew I had a great and amazing camp and that one little era of the salt bath.
C
So if you didn't take the salt bath, it would have been a different.
B
No, not just that. It was just like, you know, my orbital broke and I couldn't really see him the whole fight. And I'm just, like, fighting on instinct. And at one point I was doing physics, bro. I was measuring my jabs.
C
That's crazy.
B
But, yeah, because that fight, I was really ready, even though all the bullshit happened to me, and that eye thing happened where it broke my orbital, I just remember seeing black. I just remember going, geez, I could only see black off this eye. So this eye is gone completely. And I just remember blinking like, what the fuck? And then, of course, he punched me a couple times. And then this eye was, like, kind of fady. So I had half an eye. Oh, my God. And for 25 minutes, I. You know, I fought him with no vision, so it was like. It sucked. I can't say nothing. I can't take anything away from it. It happened. He's a stud. But that's one fight I think about. Like, what if I was at my best?
C
I feel that. Yeah, because that would have prolonged your career if you won that one, right? You would have been top five.
B
Yeah. And then they gave me some dork name and muniz. Something, something. Was he a jiu jitsu guy? Yeah, it was right then I was like, all right, I'm done.
C
I'm out.
B
I'm done. I actually wanted to get cut or fired or whatever. And my coach kind of pleaded me like, no, just retired. I'm like, oh, no. I'm like, I'm. That makes me a. He's like, nah, man.
C
Just ended on a good note.
B
Yeah. And I'm like, they don't give a. Yeah, everybody's expendable. They're gonna give a. If I. You know. Life brings me sad news to tell you guys. I don't give a fuck. Again, I can't take anything away. They made my career into what it is today. But I remember getting in my career, seeing a lot of guys complaining and stuff. I'm like, what's wrong with these guys now? I'm one of them. Oh, I get it now. When you get to a certain part in your career and you're a vet and you might getting X amount of money, it's like, do we need this motherfucker, or do we use him to make him a gatekeeper? That's what I felt was happening. I was a gatekeeper, and I was like, oh, that's. That's. That's not what I'm here for. I'm here for this.
C
Yeah, yeah.
B
But we felt that you belong here. And also now you know my values. Okay.
C
It's going to be interesting to see how the UFC pivots with a lot of guys in your era retiring now.
B
It is what it is, man. It took me a long time to really understand it, but it's a chapter. And your life is just a story. And I think the moment you realize that, it has no power over you. And for a long time I was ruled by that. Because when you're in the world, like a lot of UFC athletes, like, oh, this is it. No, it's not. It's a part of your story. I'm not going to bash them. There are great people I still talk to in ufc. I just understand how it works. It's a business. If you don't look at like a business, if you try to bring that compassion, all that bull, it's not about that anymore. Maybe back in the 90s and all that, but now it's just straight business. How much money can we get? Can you bring money in? What. What's good about you that make people want to watch you sit? That's it.
C
Yeah. Your expectations will be let down.
B
But I tell you what, they do treat when it comes to, like, everything organized wise, that's what they're really good at. Because other promotions. Night and day, bro. Yeah, Just to like, do stuff behind the scenes or interviews and all that, they're very orchestrated when it comes to stuff like that. That's why I love.
C
Yeah, they put on great events.
B
Oh, they do, but just like lining everything up to making sure you get everything that you need as an athlete. But other promotions, like, what the fuck am I doing?
C
Yeah, because you're fighting at other ones now, right?
B
Yeah, well, yeah, you know, I did the boxing thing, but there might be some opportunities coming up. I can't really say too much. I'm sure it's going to come out soon.
C
I mean, the boxing money is crazy. I could see why McGregor's boxing now instead of fighting. Because the money is nuts.
B
It is.
C
He's getting 250 million on the next fight.
B
Oh, yeah.
C
Did you see that with Logan Paul?
B
Oh, he's actually doing that.
C
I don't know if it's confirmed yet, but I'm seeing rumors that they find Logan Paul. 250 million. You wouldn't fight him.
B
Yeah, that makes sense. That's exactly what I'm saying. Everybody's just going away from the. The art. It's like, how much money can I make? Which I cannot completely understand. It's money talks now, bro. I mean, look where the world's going. We're going to shit. Yeah, money talks.
C
And also, why risk your body? You know, McGregor's had some nasty Injuries. I don't think he'll ever be the same.
B
So I want to do boxing for too long though, man.
C
You don't think so?
B
I mean, that back and forth had trauma to me. Besides football, again, I'm not knocking it. It's for, for the sport that is. But I just don't want to take that much damage getting old in my career. I haven't have a kid yet.
C
Yeah.
B
So I just don't want to be, what, 50 being. I just don't want to do that.
C
I feel a lot. You want kids? I do, yeah, Same.
B
I think kids are cool. You know, I see some of my friends with the kids and I'm just like, I'm from a different culture, bro. Like, to me, if I have a kid, I'm God. Like, bro, you, you ain't getting away with shit.
C
Yeah, you're gonna be a hard ass.
B
I'm not gonna be a hard ass, but I'll be like, you wait till you have a daughter. Like, okay, bro, I'm from Jamaica, dude. I have a job when I was five. Like, what are you talking about? There's discipline and then there's just being an. If you beat your kid, you're a piece of shit. Right? But if I'm with my kid and my wife and my kid talks back to his mom, my wife a couple times, hey, man, you doing, bro? This your mother? You know what she had to go through to get you here? That's not really nice. Just talking to your kid. I completely understand that. But if my kid take a fucking weapon and try to hit my wife, I'm fuck him up. Yeah, I'm a fuck. You do that shit again, see what happens? That's to me, discipline. Now some people say it as abuse. I got my ass whooped as a kid. Now I suffer from this psychological defect called respect for others.
C
So respect is important a lot.
B
If you hang out with these kids, these Gen Z's, bro, what the is going on? No mannerism. Yeah, try ordering Starbucks. These are in their own world, bro. It's like they're the main character and I'm just there as one of the, what do you call it, characters or some. Yeah, it's weird. No mannerism, bro. What do you want? And it's always the extra feminine dudes. That's what I always get. I always get the extra feminine dudes that are giving me attitude because I'm masculine and I'm never trying to over masculine anything. I'm just like, yeah, let me get, you know, dirty Chai. And they'll give me attitude. I'm just like, bro, come on, it's seven in the morning, bro. What are you doing?
C
Yeah. Do you think technology plays a part in that?
B
Hell, yeah. Wait till there's no more fucking doctors and, you know, farmers and shit. And that should run out. What are you going to do? Everyone's on this TikTok.
C
It's easy to talk online, man.
B
Easy.
C
Super easy.
B
Easy to talk online. I've only met one fan that I was really. I was telling my friend this the other day. Some friend, some Fran. Some fan called my mom a derogatory name.
C
Yeah.
B
And I seeked him out. I'm like, oh, you don't know my mom, dude. She went through a lot of. And I met up with him. It was International Fight Week in Vegas at the MGN Grand. You're probably watching this bitch, and it was some fat Bulgarian dude. And I was like, what's up? I was so ready to lose my career, and this dude called my mom a gorilla. I was like, what?
C
Wow.
B
You don't know my mom. What? I forgot who I was fighting. And they had a lot of fans, and that was one of them. And I was like, all right, I'll be in Vegas. That's such and such. And I seeked him out, and he showed up. This fucker. This fat fuck showed up, and luckily, a UFC staff kind of saw what's happening and pulled me aside. When I say I was ready to lose my. I was ready just to defend my mother's honor, I wouldn't do it now in that sense, but, you know, at 29, someone calling my mom that name and knowing the struggles my mother went through and gonna be racist. Oh, man. I love handling racist people. It gets scared of me when I confront him. Oh, you looking for a nigga, nigga here, what's up? Yeah, but I deal with it all the time, bro. Just the other day, I dealt with it.
C
Really?
B
Yeah, bro. Like, it's 20, 25 California. I was a gas station. I mean, it. I don't even want to talk about it, man. But, wow. It's just. I get it. I get it. It's like, you know, you. You look at certain cultures when they do certain things, you're like, oh, you could generalize it. Yeah, you generalize it. Like, I'll always just be a black man. I'll never be a successful. This. This is a black man. But I'm not going to sit here and run around and ask for you to please accept me. Please I'm this. I'm not really this. I'm this. I'm not going to do that, bro. I'm not going to beg for that. Yeah, I'm always going to be myself. But you know, living in Texas kind of really reopened my eyes. That racism still there. Because I'm from New York. We don't have time to be racist. We got shit to do. Motherfuckers in Texas got no time, bro. Some of these folks haven't left the state. They is just Texas.
C
And they're like 10th generation too.
B
Yeah, now Texas is, you know, I got some good stuff. But it's like, bro, have you left the state? You don't get out much, do you? And you know, I deal with some racist stuff. There's a place called Holland park which is five minutes away from me. I can't walk around that neighborhood. It's not bad. I mean, you just feel it if I, I mean it's very white. But how I walk around that neighborhood, bro, they'd be like, all right, this dude's up to something. Damn, I gotta dress a certain way. It's so fucked up. I went for a run one time and I had to change my outfit just to look like an outfit. An athlete. Yeah, because it was around the time somebody got killed. This gentleman that was jogging and he got killed by his dad and son. And I had to rethink that. It's just some people just so again, I understand. But it's like, bro, what fucking century do you live in? Yeah, to think you're the only thing that matters how big this planet is, bro, I just don't understand racism.
C
That's nuts.
B
I know how to deal with them though, because them up, it's just, it's sad to me. Yeah, that's a grown man. I'm still dealing with racism. So that's why I say, yeah, I always just be a black man.
C
Yeah, that's crazy.
B
Even on the plane, bro, I was on first class and this was shooting me and I was like, I don't, I don't want to get on that no fight list. So.
C
Yeah, yeah, you need to be flying around. But I, I noticed when people don't travel, they're usually closed minded. When they don't leave their city ever, they're like in their own world.
B
I have some great friends out there too. Not gonna knock it. But it's just like for majority of them when I go back home to Texas now and let's just get it straight, I'm only there for the tax break, I couldn't give a. But when I go back there, it's like, it's such a different from when I go to New York. People are just busy doing shit. Go to Cali. Cali's a little more chill, you know, I'm in the high Hollywood Hills, so I'm fine. Texas is like, we got time for racism. Oh my God. Damn.
C
Those southern states are no joke, you know.
B
But there's money.
C
Yes, sir. What are you doing next for money, man? What's next for you?
B
I'm chilling, man. One of the coolest thing I've been doing is being civilian. It's boring, but being a civilian, I want to compete again. You know, we're just talking about some stuff and just figuring that out. But I haven't slowed down as much because when you're in that world, it's just this. And I get it, you know, you have a short window, gotta do as much as you can. But I'm just observing now. It's like I have time to look at the world differently. Oh my God, it's a world. But as far as that, you know, I was smart with money. I didn't. When I retired, I traveled a bunch and I saved enough to just do nothing. And you know, I have some clients that I teach, but for me it's more of just the hobby because I was a sensei and I went to school for seven years, learn how to teach. Which is baffles me that people didn't go to school to learn how to teach. You can just go get a fucking diploma online. I went to school for seven fucking years so I can teach children. We're talking three year olds. Four, five, six. I can teach those guys. You can teach bigger kids than adults. So I have that in my back pocket, you know, if I don't open a gym, that's fine. It's just. I know I'm not done competing and I'm getting into acting too. I've done a couple of things with that. I'm just kind of exploring.
C
Let's go. You might have to start streaming some video games or something too.
B
Yeah, I talk too much. Bragging I'm a little racist when I play video games and driving.
C
Yeah, I mean, that's part of gaming, man. One of the things with Call of Duty is they don't let you talk shit anymore. They ban you.
B
I didn't even know how racist I was. I was like, I don't like this person I'm becoming, but I'm a gamer. Man, I grew up on Tekken. Tekken taught me how to fight.
C
Really? Yeah.
B
That's the game.
C
Wow.
B
I used to put the VHS in, if you remember that shit. And I moved the furniture and I practiced the moves, and that's when I was getting bullied. So when the bully got out of hand and I went to karate, I was excelling. And they were just like, where did you learn all this? Hence my name, Prime Time. And then I just excelled so fast. Got my black belt. Spoke about it in Sweden.
C
Wow.
B
Because someone asked that question, that answer went to Reddit. Reddit's Reddit. The owners of the game, found it, invited me to Comic Con, spoke in front of nerds.
C
No way.
B
I was like, put me in the game. But they put me in some dumbass UFC game, which you get no residuals, by the way.
C
Damn.
B
And, yeah, but Tekken taught me how to fight. I learned every move from this character named Jin Hei and Kazuya and Morang, my kicks. So I learned how to fight from a video game.
C
That's nuts. Yeah. Tekken's a classic. It's still around, I think.
B
Oh, yeah. We're up to eight, bro.
C
Oh, they're on eight now.
B
Yeah. And I started at three.
C
Wow. You still play the new ones?
B
Yeah, yeah, but, man, they. These new kids, man, they just be doing 30 combos in the air, and I'm like, what the. Yeah, but I do it, you know, it's my. Between playing video game and watching Family Guy. That's my escape.
C
Good old Family Guy. That's a classic.
B
I love Family Guy.
C
Yeah. I love how just open they are. They're not scared of getting canceled.
B
Yeah, bro. And they make fun of everything.
C
Everything.
B
Bring back the good old days, you.
C
Know, a little light humor. I love it, man. Well, where can people keep up with you?
B
Where do people find you, man? I don't want them to find me. I like to be invisible. I'm. I'm like Jesus, man. Well, I'm not, but you know how Jesus. I said that wrong. You. I think Jesus invented Instagram, cuz have walked around with him. They followed him. So I don't ask people to follow me. I. I think it's weird that be like, hey, follow me. Like, bro, you can follow me if you want. It's your own choosing.
C
Yeah.
B
What I have a problem with is people follow me and talk shit. Then don't follow me, bro. That makes no sense, you know? Imagine you walking down the street and someone's behind you, following you and talking shit. Why are you following me? That makes no sense. You know how you are, you fucking dorks. Just follow someone here, you piece of shit. By the way, big fan. That makes no sense to me. So you. You don't have to follow me, bro. Just get Jesus in your life. Pray, help some starving kids. Go build. Go be somebody. Forget following me, bro. Don't. Don't go be yourself.
C
What an ending. We'll end it there, man. Thanks for coming on.
B
Thanks for having me.
C
Yes, sir. See you guys.
A
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Episode: From Homelessness to UFC: A Fighter’s Rise & Fall | Uriah Hall DSH #1202
Release Date: February 25, 2025
Host: Sean Kelly
Guest: Uriah Hall
In this candid and introspective episode of Digital Social Hour, host Sean Kelly engages in an unfiltered conversation with former UFC fighter Uriah Hall. The discussion delves deep into Uriah's tumultuous journey from homelessness to becoming a prominent figure in the UFC, exploring the personal and professional challenges he faced along the way.
Uriah Hall opens up about his impoverished beginnings in Jamaica and the subsequent challenges he encountered upon moving to the United States. He shares poignant reflections on the lack of a strong father figure and the cultural shocks that led to bullying and a loss of self-confidence.
[12:05] Uriah Hall: "I grew up poor, man. I grew up literally one pair of shoes... I had no idea what racism was until I came here."
Hall recounts the harsh realities of his adolescence, including periods of homelessness in New York City, where he endured freezing cold showers and slept in gyms. These experiences instilled in him a resilience that would later define his fighting spirit.
[17:01] Uriah Hall: "I was homeless in New York City... I remember eating out of a garbage can... I don’t remember much, but I remember wanting to leave."
Transitioning to his MMA career, Hall discusses his rise in the UFC ranks and the internal politics that he believes hindered his progression. He expresses frustration with the ranking system and the favoritism he perceived within the organization.
[03:17] Uriah Hall: "There’s so much politics. Even with MMA, it’s going away from the art. There’s no more art anymore."
Hall highlights specific instances, such as his attempts to fight Darren Till and the subsequent protectiveness surrounding Till's career, which he felt unfairly stymied his own advancements.
[04:57] Uriah Hall: "I was trying to fight Alex, not to take anything away from him, but I can take him out because I’m trying to get the title contingency."
A significant portion of the conversation centers on the physical toll of fighting, including a severe weight cut that landed Hall in the ICU. He reflects on how these experiences affected his mental health, leading to feelings of depression and contemplation of suicide.
[06:59] Uriah Hall: "I thought, am I good? Can I leave and say I'm good? Because the worst thing you want to live with is regret."
Hall candidly shares his struggles post-retirement, emphasizing the isolation and lack of support from friends and the broader community.
[09:03] Uriah Hall: "I sit here and be like, what am I doing here? I could be home playing video games... fighting with no vision."
Hall confronts the pervasive issue of racism, detailing personal encounters and the broader societal implications. His experiences in Texas versus New York illustrate the varying degrees of overt racism he faces.
[43:02] Uriah Hall: "I deal with some racist stuff. There's a place called Holland Park... I can't walk around that neighborhood."
He discusses the impact of racism on his personal and professional life, advocating for self-defense and resilience as tools for empowerment.
[15:25] Uriah Hall: "Men are dangerous. But I encourage a lot of people to learn how to defend themselves. It builds your confidence."
Transitioning away from the ring, Hall shares his endeavors in teaching martial arts, acting, and exploring civilian life. Despite stepping back from active competition, his competitive nature remains undiminished.
[38:42] Uriah Hall: "I know I'm not done competing and I'm getting into acting too. I'm just kind of exploring."
He reflects on the importance of mentorship and the legacy he hopes to leave, emphasizing the lessons learned from his adversities.
[19:43] Uriah Hall: "There are lessons in everything. People don't take time to actually think about why it’s happening to them."
Hall offers a critical perspective on the current state of the UFC, lamenting the shift from martial artistry to business-centric strategies driven by profitability and influencer culture.
[02:29] Uriah Hall: "There’s so much politics... Our attention span is so short. Money talks. It’s just dumb to me."
He contrasts his fighting philosophy with that of other fighters, advocating for skill and respect over showmanship and provocative behavior.
[21:01] Uriah Hall: "I'm a sniper. I'm like, let's wait for the kill. We're done. Let’s leave."
Looking ahead, Hall expresses interest in various pursuits, including acting and potentially streaming video games. He underscores the importance of self-awareness and personal development.
[38:07] Uriah Hall: "Life is just a story. The moment you realize that, it has no power over you."
Hall emphasizes the need for balance, sharing anecdotes about his escape through gaming and humor, while also addressing the negative aspects of fame and public perception.
[47:18] Uriah Hall: "Between playing video games and watching Family Guy, that's my escape."
The episode concludes with Hall reflecting on his journey, the lessons learned, and his commitment to personal integrity despite the challenges faced. He urges listeners to focus on self-improvement and resilience.
[50:09] Uriah Hall: "What the fuck? So you don’t have to follow me, bro. Just get Jesus in your life. Pray, help some starving kids. Go build. Go be somebody."
Sean Kelly wraps up the conversation by acknowledging Hall's honesty and the depth of his experiences, leaving listeners with a profound understanding of the complexities behind a fighter's rise and fall.
This episode of Digital Social Hour offers a raw and unfiltered glimpse into Uriah Hall's life, highlighting his resilience, struggles with mental health, and critical views on the UFC and societal issues. Sean Kelly successfully draws out heartfelt and insightful narratives, providing listeners with a comprehensive understanding of Uriah's rise and fall in the competitive world of MMA.