Hall out to justify hype

his year's The Ultimate Fighter series came with a warning from UFC president Dana White to expect one of the most fearsome competitors to ever grace the show.

This character's hype featured a hospitalising string of knockouts and an opponent that had a nervous breakdown before fighting him.

The world was introduced to Uriah Hall in January, and this Saturday he battles underdog Kelvin Gastelum for a UFC contract in The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale, an event that will be headlined by Urijah Faber and Scott Jorgensen.

In the co main-event, six gruelling weeks culminate for the two remaining middleweights in the UFC's reality series competition, both of whom represented Team Chael Sonnen against Team Jon Jones.
Knockouts

Hall immediately justified White's warning with a decision victory over Andy Enz - which earned him his place in the tournament - before securing stunning knockouts of Adam Cella and Bubba McDaniel.

His spinning kick knock-out of Cella is highlight reel material, which left a visibly disturbed White to declare it the best finish in TUF's history.

Terrifyingly, Hall dismissed that incident to UFC.com, saying: "I know that kick, and to be honest with you, it's not my best kick.

"I'm a perfectionist and hopefully I get a chance to attempt it again."

Gastelum, meanwhile, bore the brunt of an underdog's tag that has never been more apt than this weekend, but defied expectations en route to the Las Vegas finale.

The anticipation to watch Hall was heightened when coach Sonnen dramatically predicted that the Jamaican-born New Yorker has the ability to defeat anyone - including pound-for-pound supremo Anderson Silva.

But 21-year-old Gastelum, the youngest ever TUF participant, isn't convinced.

"They're building him up," he said. "I just see great potential.

"I'm going to be in there and putting the fight on him and breaking all the hype."

A new star will be born on Saturday April 13. Either Hall will prove that he can kick a path from obscurity into world title fights as his buzz suggests or Gastelum will expose him as a myth