Matt Hamill - MMA Career

MMA Career

Hamill was a contestant on the third season of The Ultimate Fighter reality television show, training under Tito Ortiz in the 205 lb (93 kg) weight class. He won a preliminary fight against Mike Nickels via decision, but was unable to continue into the semi-finals due to injuries. On June 24, 2006, Hamill fought fellow contestant Jesse Forbes at The Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale on Spike TV and won via KO.

Hamill faced The Ultimate Fighter 2's Seth Petruzelli in a Fight of The Night performance he won via unanimous decision at Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter on October 10, 2006. Judges scored the bout 29–28, 30–27 and 29–28 for Hamill.

Hamill then fought Rex Holman at UFC 68: The Uprising where he won by TKO in the first round.

Hamill fought fellow TUF 3 alumni Michael Bisping at UFC 75 in London, England on September 8, 2007, where he lost via split decision. The decision was considered controversial by many, in large part because the fight was held in England, Bisping's home country. However, the two American judges ringside awarded the victory to Bisping, with the lone British judge scoring the fight for Hamill. A rematch was scheduled for UFC 78, but due to knee surgery, Hamill withdrew. A rematch has become unlikely after Bisping dropped down to the middleweight division after his loss to Rashad Evans.

Hamill next fought Tim Boetsch on April 3, 2008 whom he defeated in the second round by TKO, bringing his record to 4 wins and 1 loss. During the fight, Hamill suffered a badly split bottom lip due to a knee strike.

Hamill then went on to fight at UFC 88 against former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin as the co-main event. He lost the fight by TKO after a kick to the liver at 0:39 of the third round.

At UFC 92, Hamill defeated Reese Andy in the second round by TKO due to strikes.

Hamill fought former NCAA wrestling champion Mark Munoz at UFC 96, defeating him with a right leg roundhouse kick to the head, knocking Munoz unconscious and earning him the Knockout of the Night award.

His next fight was scheduled to be Brandon Vera at UFC 102, but due to a knee injury while training, Hamill was replaced by Krzysztof Soszynski.

Coming off of knee surgery,he got sick Hamill faced off against undefeated light heavyweight prospect Jon "Bones" Jones at The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Finale and won by disqualification after Jones utilized multiple 12-6 elbows. The unified rules of mixed martial arts prohibit downward elbow strikes, and Jones was initially only penalized a point from the round. However, because Hamill could not continue due to a dislocated shoulder, Jones was disqualified for these strikes. Consequently, the tape was reviewed and showed that Jones' elbows further damaged Hamill's already bloody and lacerated nose. This marked the first time that Nevada has used its recently-enacted instant replay rule, in which the referee's decision was supported by the commission which utilized a slow motion replay to review the elbows.

Hamill defeated Keith Jardine on June 19, 2010 at The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz Finale. Hamill won this fight by majority decision. Jardine was deducted a point for accidentally poking Hamill in the eye in round 2.

Hamill next fought his former "TUF" coach, Tito Ortiz on October 23, 2010 at UFC 121 which he won via unanimous decision.

Hamill was next scheduled to face undefeated Phil Davis at UFC 129. It was then announced that Thiago Silva had failed his UFC 125 post fight drug test, and Hamill was named as his replacement in his bout against former UFC light heavyweight champion and current top contender Quinton Jackson. Hamill lost the fight via a one sided unanimous decision.

At UFC 133 Hamill faced off against up and coming Swedish striker Alexander Gustafsson, replacing an injured Vladimir Matyushenko. After an uneventful first round, Gustafsson dropped Hamill in the second with a straight punch followed by an uppercut, subsequently finishing Hamill with punches and elbows from the mount.

On August 8, 2011, Matt Hamill decided to step away from the UFC and MMA, as he lost his last two fights. "Today is a sad day for me. After six years and 13 fights in the UFC I’m ready to hang up my gloves and retire from this amazing sport," he said on his official website.

Nearly a year later, however, Hamill decided to come out of retirement. Hamill was expected to face UFC newcomer Roger Hollett on September 22, 2012 at UFC 152. However, Hollett was forced out of the bout due to a contract dispute with Bellator and replaced by Vladimir Matyushenko. However, Matyushenko was forced out of the bout after suffering a torn achilles tendon while training, and was replaced by Hollett, who had settled the issue in time. He won his return fight via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27).