Ryan Hall details plethora of injuries and surgeries that has led to layoff

Ryan Hall is looking to make the walk to the Octagon again.

Hall hasn’t fought since December of 2021 when he beat Darrick Minner. Since then, the fan-favorite has dealt with plenty of injuries and has had 19 surgeries since his last fight.

“Basically, the most serious unfortunate health stuff that I have ever experienced in my life,” Hall said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “I’ve had 21 general anesthesia surgeries since that fight, sorry 19, there were two prior. I got fallen on, tore my ACL, had to fix a plantar plate, got fallen on again, and had to have a tightrope surgery the one that Pat Mahomes and a couple of other people have had. The ACL got infected, had to have a couple of septic arthritis. The tight rope, I was actually allergic to the hardware they put in my somehow, so had to have that re-done. It’s been interesting but on the back end of it.”

Although Ryan Hall had nearly 20 surgeries and has dealt with a plethora of injuries, he knew he would fight again.

Ryan Hall knew he’d fight again

“No. Right before I fought Ilia Topuria in 2021, I got fallen on then, I went 15 years completely bulletproof,” Hall said. “I ended up getting fallen on and tore my hip right before that fight and I didn’t know how much that really affected me. At that point, it was 17 years of combat sports, so you spend all that time competing and training. The same thing that makes you tough can do you in. The big one recently was I had a torn shoulder.

“Getting that all fixed as well has been huge,” Hall added. “It’s been interesting because more than half of the surgeries I have had are ‘Oops, we screwed that one up, let’s do that again.’ I had six elbow surgeries and five knee surgeries. As a patient, you can’t vet doctors and medical staff. There was a period of time when I was in daily pain, but being on the back side, I never lost hope that I’d be back.”

Despite all the injuries, Ryan Hall says he’s getting close to returning. He envisions an early 2025 return. But, he does say the layoff has been frustrating, especially looking at where he could be in the division.

“I had long stretches of time that no one would fight me. I’d get declined. Turns out, your only loss is under difficult circumstances (to the champ). I had a bunch of injuries going into that fight, and he’s a great fighter,” Hall said. “The only fight you have lost is to the current champ. I had just signed on to fight Pat Sabatini and that’s when I tore my ACL. That was the beginning of this saga. It is frustrating because you think of what could be or what could have been.”