After 16 Surgeries Ryan Hall Is Finally Targeting UFC Comeback

BJJ ace Ryan Hall has revealed he’s undergone no less than 16 surgeries since his last UFC fight back in December of 2021, and is now finally starting to focus on making a comeback.

“It’s a bit of a saga,” Hall told MMA Junkie. “I spent about 10 years not being injured, then I just got a couple of bad luck (injuries), like getting fallen on a couple of times. (I) tore a hip flexor really badly prior to my first fight in 2021, and had a really, really bad tear in the bottom of my foot. So a lot of things started to add up. I broke my hand in that first fight in 2021, had that fight in December, and then went into the next year.

“I was going to do ADCC, going to do some competitions, and I had actually just agreed to a fight in August of 2022, but unfortunately got fallen on, tore my ACL, tore my meniscus and it’s been 16 surgeries since. But we’re on the back end of it, and I just had one on Tuesday, but it’s fortunately going in the right direction. I’m looking forward to being back healthy, feeling better than I have in a very, very long time, and looking forward to competing again soon.”

Hall went on to reveal that his ACL surgery led to a septic infection that led to him requiring two other emergency operations, while his long list of surgeries also included four on his right elbow, three on his left foot and two on his right foot.

with all that out the way the former TUF winner is now targeting a Polaris grappling match in June, but says his main focus is reigniting his 9-2 MMA career, which includes a 4-1 run in the UFC so far.

“MMA is all I care about,” Hall said. “I want to come back and I want to continue. I spent years being in the rankings and got dropped for inactivity because of bad luck and people not being willing to fight. I had a bad luck loss and could have done some things better. But breaking your hand, getting head-butted, having all sorts of injuries before the fight – that was frustrating. But I managed to end 2021 on a good note, and I just want to get back to pushing forward and growing and learning and moving back to fighting the best guys I can.

“My hope is to compete around, realistically, August-September and then try and get in two this year.”

Ross launched MMA Insight (previously FightOfTheNight.com) in 2009 as a way to channel his passion for the sport of mixed martial arts. He's since penned countless news stories and live fight reports along with dozens of feature articles as the lead writer for the site, reaching millions of fans in the process.