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UFC 261 Odds: Uriah Hall Poses KO Threat Against Chris Weidman in New York War

Prediction: Chris Weidman (-125) vs. Uriah Hall (+105)

New York worlds will collide at UFC 261 when Long Islander Chris Weidman takes on Queens native Uriah Hall in a rematch between veterans that takes place more than a decade after their first bout.

Weidman (15-5) delivered a first-round TKO to hand Hall (16-9) the first loss of his career when both fighters were part of Ring of Combat, making the jump up to the UFC less than six months later.

Fast-forward to today and Weidman leads as a slim -125 frontrunner with William Hill USA to do the double against this opponent, except he’s far from as invincible as he might have been back then. In fact, five defeats in Weidman’s last seven fights (all via KO/TKO) suggest +105 Hall is one underdog worth backing, having notched 12 of his 16 career victories by those means.

Chris Weidman vs. Uriah Hall Prediction

Hall via KO/TKO (+210) in Rd 3 (+800)

Born just one month apart, these 36-year-old combatants boast more than 30 UFC fights between them, and Hall’s insinuation that Long Island isn’t part of New York has sparked a rivalry we as MMA fans never knew we needed:

“Prime Time”—who was born and spent his childhood in Jamaica—has been confident in the buildup to this bout considering he’s won three fights in a row for only the second time in his UFC career.

A stoppage loss at Dominick Reyes’ hands can be forgiven as a misjudged move up to light heavyweight, which proved short-lived as veteran Hall prepares to welcome him back at 185lbs. In Weidman’s defense, those five knockout losses since December 2015 each came against high-caliber opposition, but there’s a sense that if he gets touched even a handful of times, a striker of Hall’s quality will capitalise.

For that reason, it’s somewhat surprising to see Hall as high as +210 to add another KO/TKO finish to his record. Weidman made a successful return to middleweight by beating Omari Akhmedov by decision last August, but a resurgent Hall could cut that comeback short.