It wasn’t the prettiest bout of the night, but at UFC Fight Night 29 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Thiago Silva was able to get the job done against Matt Hamill. The judges scored the bout 30-27, 30-27, and 29-27 all in favor of the Brazilian.
Hamill attempted two takedowns early in the first round, both of which were stuffed. But the Brazilian continued to stalk and land a series of hard strikes both to the legs and head of the American. While generally being outstruck and eating a number of unchecked leg kicks, Hamill was able to land a series of hard liver shots to Silva throughout the course of the round.
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After roughly a minute of exchanging on the feet in the second round, Hamil scored a double leg takedown, but wasn’t able to hold the Brazilian there. Off of a two punch combination, Silva eventually dropped Hamill, but winded, couldn’t finish him despite Hamill being utterly fatigued. Hamill was able to withstand the non-existent barrage, separate and continue to compete, although never seemed to truly recover. The round ended with Hamill actually securing a takedown, although incapable of making it count.
Hamill attempted a number of takedowns early in the third frame, none of them working very well as Silva continued to batter Hamill’s legs with hard kicks. After an inadvertent eye poke, the bout resumed and went right back to work with inside and outside leg kicks, none of which were checked. With ninety seconds left in the frame, Hamill attempted to run down a takedown, but couldn’t get it. Silva continued to pour it on with brutal leg kicks and a series of knees to the face with a badly hurt Hamill.
Silva moves to 16-3 with two no-contests while Hamill drops to 11-5.