Ryan Hall Returns to Face Dan Ige at March 13 UFC Card

BREAKING: Ryan Hall is back! Multiple sources have told me that Hall is set to return to the Octagon on March 13 against Dan Ige. Contracts have already been issued for the fight. #UFC https://t.co/NyGnkNce0g

— Cole Shelton (@ColeShelton91) January 14, 2021

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Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight Ryan Hall is back in action for the first time since 2019.

The news first coming from BJPenn.com on Thursday, Hall (8-1) will be setting foot inside the Octagon after a lengthy layoff against Dan Ige (14-3). The two featherweights will collide at the UFC Fight Night card on March 13, which will presumably take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The news has since been confirmed by other outlets. Hall previously called out Ige in November on Instagram, and he will now be getting his wish, as the two have agreed to face one another.

The mercurial grappler Hall has struggled to find opponents since defeating Darren Elkins on the scorecards in July 2019. Once booked in May 2020 against Ricardo Lamas, the event fell through due to the coronavirus pandemic. The two were rescheduled for August of that year, but that too fell apart after Hall suffered an injury. It has been nearly 15 years since Hall lost a fight, dropping his debut in the sport in 2006 and taking several years off to hone his skills. “The Wizard” went on to win Season 22 of “The Ultimate Fighter” at lightweight, and he has notched three wins over Gray Maynard, B.J. Penn and Elkins along the way. Most notably, his submission of Penn was the first any opponent had ever landed on the former lightweight kingpin.

Ige has proved the far more active fighter than his foe, competing more almost as many times in 2020 as Hall has in his entire four-year UFC tenure. Most recently, Ige saw a six-fight win streak halted by Calvin Kattar, when the two headlined UFC on ESPN 13 in July 2020. Before facing Kattar, Ige rattled off close wins over the likes of Edson Barboza, Mirsad Bektic and Kevin Aguilar as he continued his streak. Neither Ige nor his prospective opponent Hall have ever been finished as a pro.

The UFC Fight Night card on March 13 will either take place in the UFC Apex in Las Vegas or in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Headlining the event is the oft-rescheduled welterweight pairing between Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev. Also appearing on the main card is a heavyweight battle between Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Ciryl Gane.