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Dana White rips Uriah Hall after UFC Fight Night 124 weigh-in miss: 'He doesn't take it serious'

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ST. LOUIS – Uriah Hall was forced to withdraw from Sunday’s UFC Fight Night 124 event after a pre-weigh-in incident that Paige VanZant described as the “scariest thing” she’d ever seen.

Hall (13-8 MMA, 6-6 UFC) was scheduled to fight Vitor Belfort (26-13 MMA, 15-10 MMA) in the middleweight co-headliner at Scottrade Center in St. Louis. He failed to step on the scale at Saturday’s official weigh-in, and the bout was promptly called off.

Details on exactly what happened are still somewhat unclear. Hall was transported to a local hospital after reportedly fainting and was forced to stay for more than 48 hours. He was released Sunday afternoon, but has not made any public comment on the situation.

UFC President Dana White was asked for an update on Hall’s condition in a post-fight media scrum after UFC Fight Night 124, and said he believes the incident involving Hall was the result of improper weight management and lifestyle choices.

“The guys at the UFC (Performance Institute) said he’s the, what’s the word – he doesn’t take it serious,” White said. “He doesn’t take his training serious, he doesn’t do what anybody tells him. He does his own thing. A week before the fight, he went to L.A. and was hanging out in L.A. in clubs and stuff. So, not good.”

White said he’d communicated with Hall and described his condition as “not good.”

“He texted me (Sunday night),” White said. “He’s back in his room. Obviously he’s not good. And if you don’t cut weight the right way and you don’t do what you’re supposed to do, this is what happens.”

Hall’s incident and late withdrawal from the event appears to be an increasingly growing theme around the time of weigh-ins. He’s one of several fighters to be forced off a card the day before the fight over the past 18 months, and there’s been blame placed on the implementation of the early weigh-in procedure. White, however, believes a simple solution would be for fighters to move up in weight class.

“What I think (Hall) needs to think about is fight at 205,” White said. “Fight at 205 or show up and do what you’re supposed to do. There’s ways to cut weight properly and safely. You need to start doing that. That’s why we are encouraging everybody to come to the UFC Performance Institute. That’s why all the guys down there do what they’re supposed to do and do it the right way, cut weight safely. The guys who don’t listen, this is what happens. And much like Kelvin Gastelum and the Johny Hendricks and the other people out there – if you can’t make that weight, then fight at the higher weight division.”

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 124, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

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