Ryan Hall reveals he suffered broken hand in knockout loss to Ilia Topuria in first statement after UFC 264

Ryan Hall has issued his first statement after suffering a brutal knockout loss to Ilia Topuria at UFC 264 this past Saturday night.

The submission specialist had never tasted defeat previously inside the octagon but Topuria made him pay after Hall was unable to drag the fight down to the ground for any significant amount of time or control his opponent in the grappling exchanges.

When Hall finally did manage to latch onto Topuria, the Georgian featherweight prospect began blasting him with punches and that’s what ultimately led to the first-round knockout stoppage.

Now the former Ultimate Fighter winner is addressing the loss for the first time while also revealing an injury he suffered in the fight with Topuria.

“Well, that was going reasonably well until it wasn’t,” Hall said in a statement posted to Instagram. “Headlock with 20 seconds left was a little ballsier than necessary.

“Broke my hand on the first punch landed, but can’t wait to heal up, adjust, and be back again soon.”

Prior to his fight at UFC 264, Hall had struggled to find opponents willing to face him after he rattled off four straight wins in the UFC including his heel-hook submission victory over former lightweight champion B.J. Penn.

Unfortunately, Hall’s own injury earlier this year prevented him from drawing a top 10 opponent after he was scheduled to meet Dan Ige in a clash at featherweight.

After recovering, he was then placed into the fight with Topuria, who is considered one of the best prospects in the 145-pound division. Topuria obviously got the better of him with the first-round knockout as he remains undefeated in his career with a perfect 11-0 record.

Meanwhile, Hall could only thank those that supported him before and after the fight as he looks to bounce back when he’s healthy again.

“Thanks so much to all the people whose help, guidance, and support allowed me to have the opportunity to get back to doing what I love,” Hall wrote. “Without them, I could never have made it to the ring.

“Thank you also to all the people who cheered or sent messages of support. I really appreciate it.”