Ryan Hall’s return to the Octagon will be delayed a few months.

Earlier on Thursday, BJPENN.com broke the news that Hall was forced to withdraw from the fight due to an injury. Shortly after the news became public, Hall revealed to BJPENN.com that he tore his hip flexor.

“I tore my hip flexor. Almost ripped it off the bone when someone accidentally fell on me in training,” Hall said to BJPENN.com. “I tried to train through it and it made it worse. Went to the doctor, got an MRI, and will be out 8-12 weeks for a full recovery. In physical therapy every day now. I should be good to go by April.

The injury is obviously bad news for Ryan Hall who has been campaigning for a fight. The jiu-jitsu wizard has not fought since UFC Sacramento in July of 2019 when he beat Darren Elkins. Since then, he was booked in two fights but was forced to pull out of both due to injuries.

However, before even getting booked in fights, Ryan Hall had a hard time getting an opponent. He had to call out several fighters and made it clear he was turned down by many. With Hall also losing his ranking it may be even harder for him to get a ranked opponent next but he hopes to face Jeremy Stephens in April.

“I hope to fight Stephens or someone similar as soon as health allows which should be April or May,” Hall said. “I would be very excited to face a challenge like him who is a super tough dude.”

A fight between Ryan Hall and Jeremy Stephens does make sense, especially given the fact Stephens is on a losing skid and will need to fight someone lower ranked than him. However, before the fight can even be booked, Hall will need to recover from his injury and get back into training.

Would you like to see Ryan Hall vs Jeremy Stephens?