When they first saw him, his coaches thought he'd been training for a while. Truth is, Uriah Hall just watched Jean Claude van Damme movies, played a lot of Tekken, and copied what he saw. When he was younger, he just loved martial arts and video games - nothing's changed. Now, with 10 years of training under his belt and a never-say-die attitude, he's looking to make a push towards the big leagues.

He walks out to LL Cool J's "Mama Said Knock You Out," but he didn't call his mom before his second professional fight (for Bellator) because he didn't want her to worry. At the time, he held a pro record of 1-0 (currently 3-0), while his veteran opponent had 34 fights to his credit. From the get-go, Uriah was aggressive and chased him, throwing everything from hooks and jabs to Superman punches and flashy kicks.

Now, with an undefeated record, he's come under a recent string of bad luck. After three months of training, his February Ring of Combat fight was canceled right before the weigh-ins because his opponent pulled out with a dislocated shoulder. Rescheduled for April, Hall - nicknamed "Primetime" by his friends - dislocated his left knee two weeks before the fight. But he didn't complain and he didn't whine. Now, he's set to fight for the middleweight championship in mid-June.

His dedication hasn't wavered and his heart is still intact. He fights because he loves being in the moment. You know, when you have a heightened awareness and are looking for your shots. Yes, he's confident and, yes, he's unflappable, but there's no substitute for courage and spirit. He loves his job.

Even though negotiations for Bellator Season Two fell through at the last minute and we almost saw him on the current season of The Ultimate Fighter, Hall's patiently waiting for his opportunity to wow the crowd.

He's got a heart of gold, arms of muscle and legs of steel. Everyone jokes that he has to take those YouTube videos down so people aren't scared to fight him anymore. Uriah has the aggression of a lion in the cage, but the stoicism of a tiger outside of it. He's a sensei at Tiger Schulmann's Karate (with Bellator champion Lyman Good), teaching three to four classes a night. And that's after he trains for three and a half hours in the morning.

Uriah's not the most well-known fighter yet, but he's creating waves. Mixed martial arts aficionados know his name. His strong, flashy style allows him to shine among all the other fighting fish in the sea. With a few more bouts to his name, Hall will be making a huge splash - and we'll all be around to see the current surge forward.