UFC 130 Will Be The Big Breakout For Matt Hamill In The Light Heavyweight Division
Despite not being excited for his fight at UFC 130, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson needs to know that Matt Hamill is a very dangerous fighter who is ready to make a name for himself in the light heavyweight division.
Hamill holds a career record of 10-2, though it should be pointed out one of those victories was the result of a disqualification against Jon Jones in a fight Jones was dominating. He has good striking and power in his punches and kicks, but wrestling is his speciality.
Jackson is the biggest name on the entire fight card, but Hamill could make the most noise. Jackson hasn’t looked impressive of late. He lost an ugly decision to Rashad Evans at UFC 114 and was fortunate to get a split decision win against Lyoto Machida at UFC 123.
Hamill, meanwhile, has five straight victories. He has yet to beat a true top-level fighter, you can’t include the Jones win because of the circumstances and Tito Ortiz is a shell of his former self, so this will be his biggest test to date. He is 34-years-old, so his best opportunity to make a move up the light heavyweight rankings will be with this fight.
Jackson has made it well-known that he has plans outside of mixed martial arts, so his focus might not be on this fight.
Hamill is not to be taken lightly. He can win this fight because Jackson has shown himself to be very vulnerable if he can’t knock an opponent out early.
If Hamill survives the initial onslaught that Jackson will throw at him, he will walk away with a victory. He is not a household name, but he can become one with a victory over Jackson.
I see him taking the fight to Jackson and walking out of it with a decision victory using superior grappling and mat wrestling.