One of Dana White’s favorite fighters will make a return on short notice next week. Here’s the fight I’m referring to, along with my thoughts on it. Uriah Hall vs. Krzysztof Jotko, UFC Fight Night 69 Due to an injury to Derek Brunson, Krzysztof Jotko will now take on Uriah Hall at UFC Fight Night 69, which takes place June 20 at O2 World in Berlin, Germany. Hall is getting the chance to jump right back into action just a few weeks after losing a close decision to Rafael Natal at UFC 187. While Hall fought competitively with Natal in that fight, the judges opted with the Brazilian, dropping Hall’s UFC record to 3-3. He is a talented prospect but he just can’t seem to put it together. He has the skills, but for whatever reasons has excessively-long periods of inactivity in his bouts. If he loses this fight to Jotko, the UFC may very well cut him, although if they do I’d imagine Bellator would snap him up in a heartbeat, so perhaps he has a longer leash than deserved. As for Jotko, the Pole is 2-1 in the UFC and in his last fight defeated Tor Troeng at UFC Fight Night 53. He isn’t great, but he is a solid grinder, and the type of fighter who has given Hall problems in the past. If Jotko can push Hall against the fence and mix in his strikes, he can win this fight, especially if Hall is inactive as usual. The key to Jotko will be volume, because if he is more active than Hall — even if Hall is landing the better shots — I’d imagine he would earn the decision in Germany. The odds will most likely list Hall as a decent favorite here, and I do think it’s his fight to win or lose. Having said that, would I bet on him in this spot? Probably not, as he’s hard to be trusted. But at the same time, it would take a pretty hefty number on Jotko to make him consider him, although at +250 or so I would probably have to take a shot for value.
