Uriah Hall Gets Bellator Vet Louis Taylor As UFC Fight Night 59 Replacement

Set to take on his first Top 15-ranked middleweight in Costas Philippou at Jan. 18’s UFC Fight Night 59 from Boston, The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 17 finalist Uriah Hall saw his biggest bout disappear when Philippou was unfortunately forced out with a rib injury.

Today, news has come that Hall has found a replacement opponent, and not surprisingly, he isn’t quite up to the level of Philippou.

According to a report from MMA Fighting, Hall will face Strikeforce and Bellator veteran Louis Taylor, who will come into the UFC off of four consecutive wins in regional promotions. His most recent victory was a November tapout of fellow Bellator vet Brian Houston at October’s AFPC 17.

The 35-year-old Taylor is an accomplished wrestler who wrestler at Eastern Illinois University. Hall has shown a weakness against wrestlers in his first two UFC losses to Kelvin Gastelum and John Howard.

However, Taylor will be making his UFC debut against a ridiculously dangerous striker in Hall, who has won his last two over Chris Leben and Thiago Santos, against whom he pulled out a win with a badly broken toe.

So Hall will remain on the awaited UFC Fight Night 59 card from Boston’s TD Garden, which features Irish featherweight Conor McGregor vs. German striker Dennis Siver in the main event. It was recently confirmed that ‘Notorious’ will get a title shot at longtime champion Jose Aldo with a win.

Former Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez will also look to pick up his first UFC win when he meets former UFC 155-pound champion Benson Henderson, who is coming off of losses in two of his last four fights, in the co-main event.