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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Matt Erickson and Ken Hathaway

UFC on ESPN+ 13: Ryan Hall can’t understand why his striking isn’t talked about more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Ryan Hall beat Darren Elkins with a unanimous decision Saturday night on the preliminary card at UFC on ESPN+ 13 in Sacramento, Calif.

Take a look inside the fight with Hall, who stayed unbeaten in the UFC with the win.

Result: Ryan Hall def. Darren Elkins via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Updated records: Hall (8-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC), Darren Elkins (24-8 MMA, 14-7 UFC)
Key stat: After a six-fight winning streak that came after he moved to Team Alpha Male, Elkins has dropped three straight – the first losing skid of his career.

Hall on the fight’s key moment

“Darren’s super tough. When I dropped him in the first, I was going to use the guillotine to get to something else. It had a bit more bite than I thought, so I stuck with it. I think with about 10 more seconds in the round, it would have been game over. Darren’s just tough as nails. Getting him out of there is not easy.”

Hall on not getting enough props for his striking

“You try to be as tricky as possible to deal with. My striking has really come along. I’ve cleanly outstruck every opponent I’ve fought. I don’t know why the narrative is different. Nobody wants to grapple with me, but we’ll see what happens when that changes.”

Hall on what he wants next

“Darren’s been in the top 10 or 15 for some time. He’s an unbelievably tough fighter. There’s a card in (Washington) D.C. at the end of the year that’s about five minutes away from my house. I’d be excited to be on that and I’d love to fight someone in the top 10.”

To hear more from Hall, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.

For complete coverage of UFC on ESPN+ 13, check out the MMA Results.

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