Ryan Hall (born February 22, 1985) is an American black belt and instructor in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and a professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the featherweight division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC). He is known for a number of competitive achievements, ranging from Mundial and ADCC victories to dozens of

Grapplers Quest Grapplers Quest is an organization mainly concerned with the promotion of Grappling (submission wrestling) and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournaments. Founded in 1998 by Brian Cimins, Grapplers Quest hosts competitions of various division, age, and wei ...

championships. He is the winner of

The Ultimate Fighter ''The Ultimate Fighter'' is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen s ...

Season 22.

Background

Ryan Hall was born on 22 February 1985 in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...

. Hall attended Manhattan College in The Bronx, NY and studied Electrical Engineering.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

In 2012, Hall began training in mixed martial arts at Tristar Gym in Montreal, Canada. He represented his new team for the first time in the cage at SLAMM-1 on November 30, 2012, in Montreal, Canada where he won by TKO in the first round. Hall fought on the Challenge MMA 2 card on August 17, 2013. He submitted Maged Hammo at the Montreal, Quebec event. Hall defeated Leo Perez via TKO at Fight Lab 35 in Charlotte, NC on February 8, 2014, and submitted Ryan Hogans via first round heel hook at the United Combat League on May 31 in Hammond, IN.

''The Ultimate Fighter''

On August 31, 2015, it was announced that Hall would be a contestant on the 22nd season of

reality show, representing Team USA. In the opening elimination bout, Hall faced fellow American Johnny Nunez. He won the fight via heel hook early in the first round. Hall represented Team USA in the first preliminary fight of the season facing Sweden's Frantz Slioa. He once again won the fight via heel hook in the first round. He advanced to the quarter finals, where he lost to Saul Rogers by majority decision. Rogers advanced to the final, but a visa issue prevented him from fighting, instead allowing Hall to fight Artem Lobov in The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale. Hall defeated Lobov by unanimous decision to become the Ultimate Fighter 22 lightweight winner.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Hall was expected to face Alex White on July 13, 2016, at

UFC Fight Night 91 ''UFC Fight Night: McDonald vs. Lineker'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 91'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 13, 2016, at Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Ba ...

. However, the bout was scrapped on June 28 as White pulled out due to an undisclosed injury. In turn, Hall elected to fight on a different date rather than have the promotion find him a replacement. Hall next faced

Gray Maynard Bradley Gray Maynard (born May 9, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Between 2008 and 2011, he competed in a noted rivalry with former UFC Lightweight ...

on December 3, 2016, at The Ultimate Fighter 24 Finale. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Hall faced B.J. Penn on December 29, 2018, at

UFC 232 ''UFC 232: Jones vs. Gustafsson 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on December 29, 2018 at The Forum in Inglewood, California. Background A UFC Light Heavyweight Championship bout b ...

. He won the fight via a heel hook submission in the first round. This win earned him the ''Performance of the Night'' award. Hall faced

Darren Elkins Darren Elkins (born May 16, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he fights in the Featherweight division. Elkins is known for his toughness and comeback victories. Background Elkins was bor ...

on July 13, 2019, at

UFC on ESPN+ 13 ''UFC Fight Night: de Randamie vs. Ladd'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 155'' or ''UFC on ESPN+ 13'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on July 13, 2019 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Despite being a ranked fighter, Hall has made headlines due to his inability to find a fight, going long stretches between matches (with only four fights in over four years since signing with the UFC). He has been vocal about fighting anyone so long as he has been given preparation, but his management and the UFC has had difficulties finding him similarly or higher ranked opponents. Two weeks later, the UFC official found an opponent for Hall. Hall was scheduled to face

Ricardo Lamas Ricardo Alejandro Lamas (born May 21, 1982) is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed in Featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Lamas' father is Cuban and his mother is Mexican. The flag ...

on May 2, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Weidman. However, on April 9,

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who serves as president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at $500 milli ...

, the president of UFC announced that this event was postponed to a future date The bout was rescheduled on August 29, 2020, at

UFC Fight Night 175 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. However, Hall was pulled from the event due to an undisclosed injury. Hall was scheduled to face

Dan Ige Daniel Alexander Ige (born August 6, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in UFC's Featherweight division. A professional since 2014, he has also competed for the Legacy Fighting Championship, Pancrase, the RFA, and Tit ...

on March 13, 2021, at

UFC Fight Night 187 ''UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 187'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 45'' and ''UFC Vegas 21'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 13, 2021 at the UF ...

. However, Hall pulled out of the fight on February 11 due to a hip flexor injury. Hall faced

Ilia Topuria Ilia Topuria ( ka, ილია თოფურია) (born January 21, 1997) is a Georgian and Spanish mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight and Featherweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of December 13, 20 ...

on July 10, 2021, at

UFC 264 ''UFC 264: Poirier vs. McGregor 3'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 10, 2021 at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. ...

. He lost the fight via knockout in round one. Hall faced

Darrick Minner Darrick Minner (born April 28, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Born in Auburn, Nebraska and raised in Nebraska City, Minner wrestled at Nebra ...

on December 11, 2021, at

UFC 269 ''UFC 269: Oliveira vs. Poirier'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 11, 2021, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United State ...

. He won the bout via unanimous decision.

Personal life

Hall and his wife have a son (born 2018). While a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter, Hall explained that his frequent facial

tic A tic is a sudden, repetitive, nonrhythmic motor movement or vocalization involving discrete muscle groups.American Psychiatric Association (2000)DSM-IV-TR: Tourette's Disorder.''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'', 4th ed., ...

s are a result of a mild form of

Tourette's syndrome Tourette syndrome or Tourette's syndrome (abbreviated as TS or Tourette's) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that begins in childhood or adolescence. It is characterized by multiple movement (motor) tics and at least one vocal (phonic) ...

Self-defense incident

In 2011, a

viral video A viral video is a video that becomes popular through a viral process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites such as YouTube as well as social media and email.Lu Jiang, Yajie Miao, Yi Yang, ZhenZhong Lan, Alexander Haupt ...

of Hall surfaced showing Hall using

grappling Grappling, in hand-to-hand combat, describes sports that consist of gripping or seizing the opponent. Grappling is used at close range to gain a physical advantage over an opponent, either by imposing a position or causing injury. Grappling ...

techniques to defend himself against a larger, aggressive man while dining in a pizza parlor. In the video, Hall demonstrates the use of a single leg takedown and the mount position. Later, he applies a

chokehold A chokehold, choke, stranglehold or, in Judo, shime-waza ( ja, 絞技, translation=constriction technique) is a general term for a grappling hold that critically reduces or prevents either air (choking)''The New Oxford Dictionary of English'' ( ...

to the man shortly before police arrive.

Grappling career

Hall has earned a number of accolades in professional Jiu-Jitsu competition, the highlight of his career coming in 2009 when he earned a bronze medal at the ADCC world championships. In 2007, Hall fought fellow future-UFC competitor

Nate Diaz Nathan Donald Diaz (born April 16, 1985) is an American professional mixed martial artist who is currently a free agent. Diaz is most known for his time spent fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he fought for over 15 year ...

in the final of the US Open at purple belt, losing by submission and taking second place. ADCC head organizer Mo Jassim originally stated he was looking at booking Hall to return to professional grappling at the 2022 ADCC world championship. In March, 2022, Hall was given an official invite to compete in the 66kg division at the event. He withdrew from the event in June, 2022 after suffering a complete tear to his ACL. Hall has also published a number of instructional DVD sets, including one with an emphasis on the triangle choke, a signature technique used in his competitive career.

Championships and accomplishments

Brazilian jiu-jitsu

Main Achievements: * 2 x IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu World Champion (2007 / 2008 purple) * IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu European Open Champion (2008 purple) * IBJJF Chicago Jiu-Jitsu Open champion (2009 Absolute black belt) * 3rd Place

Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu Championship The Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu Championship (commonly known as the Brazilian Nationals) is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) tournament that is held in Barueri, Brazil. They are hosted annually by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation. ...

(2008 purple) * 3rd Place IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu World Championship (2009 brown)

Grappling

Main Achievements: * ADCC US West Coast Trials winner (2009) * 3rd Place

ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship The ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship, is an international submission wrestling, submission grappling competition, organised by the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC). The inaugural tournament was held in Abu Dhabi, UAE in 1998. It has been ...

(2009)

Mixed martial arts

** The Ultimate Fighter 22 Lightweight Winner **Performance of the Night (One time) . *

MMA Fighting ''MMA Fighting'' is a news website that covers the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). Founded in 2001, the site is notable for its breaking news coverage, podcast series, and ''The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani''. Overview ''MMAFighting.com'' w ...

**2018 Submission of the Year vs. B.J. Penn *CombatPress.com **2018 Submission of the Year vs. B.J. Penn

Mixed martial arts record

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Ryan 1985 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Manhattan College alumni Mixed martial artists from Virginia Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters