Another tough fight to call, but I’m going with the Skyscraper.Struve is still so young (23) that he should be adding strength at a rapid clip and polishing his skills with ease. Considering the Dutch youngster already has some impressive wins on his r…
Another tough fight to call, but I’m going with the Skyscraper.
Struve is still so young (23) that he should be adding strength at a rapid clip and polishing his skills with ease. Considering the Dutch youngster already has some impressive wins on his resume, he’s gonna be a handful when his power catches up to the rest of his skills.
Oh, and he looks like he has added a substantial amount of weight without compromising his fluidity or flexibility. We obviously won’t know for sure until the gloves drop, but he’s looking physically primed.
Travis Browne is no slouch, but he was probably lucky to escape with a draw from his last affair with Cheick Kongo due to a point deduction suffered by the latter.
Kongo was Browne’s toughest opponent to date and it’s not like Struve is a world-beater…yet.
Nevertheless, I expect to see vast improvement from Holland’s own and another victory for the kid.
LAS VEGAS — This is the UFC 130 live blog for Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Matt Hamill, the main event of tonight’s pay-per-view at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Jackson (31-8, 6-2 UFC) is coming off a split decision win over fellow former light heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida at UFC 123 in November. Hamill (10-2, 9-2 UFC) has won five straight – including a controversial disqualification win over current champion Jon Jones in December 2009.
A win by Jackson could put him next in line to face Jones for the 205-pound title later this fall.
Round 1: They meet in the middle for instructions. They touch gloves. The MGM Grand reports Rampage closed as a -250 favorite to Hamill’s +200 underdog. Hamill kicks first. Rampage stays outside. Hamill throws a high kick. Hamill shoots 30 seconds in, but Rampage defends well and throws a combo to push him back. Rampage now in the center. Straight left jab from Hamill misses. High kick from Hamill misses. Rampage stalks, then lands a tight right uppercut. Right kick from Hamill is checked by Rampage, and Hamill fakes a teep to try and keep some distance. Right-left from Hamill, then a kick that Rampage tries to counter off of. Rampage nearly lands a big uppercut. Two rights from Hamill are followed by two frights from Rampage. Hamill then shoots again, but Rampage defends it with a knee to the body. Hamill goes low for a takedown, but it’s again not there. Rampage opens up a little with a right-left-right combo. Left jab from Hamill pushes Rampage back, and he misses a follow-up right. Hamill again has nothing in the form of a takedown, and Rampage gets a little offense on the break. With 25 seconds left, he has Hamill possibly hurt and backing up. Rampage seemed to control things a little more and the late flurry helped give him a 10-9 round on our card.
Round 2: High kick from Hamill opens things up, but Rampage has none of it and counters with enough to back Hamill up. Another sort-of shot from Hamill does nothing but lead to a clinch, and Rampage pushes him against the fence. Rampage throws a knee that lands to the body. Then another as he defends Hamill’s desire for a takedown. Another awkward-looking shot from Hamill leads to more Rampage offense, and he nearly lands a huge knee to the chin. They tie up briefly, then break. The crowd grows quite restless on a night that has seen just one submission and two knockouts. They dance and feint and paw jabs for a minute with little real activity. Hamill goes in again for a takedown, but Rampage again defends. A right-left-right from Rampage is the best offense of the fight so far, but Hamill doesn’t go down. Rampage follows with a big shot to the body as time winds down in the frame. MMA Fighting gives the second to Rampage, 10-9.
Round 3: Quick start with a left from Rampage. Hamill has to believe he needs to finish the fight to get a victory. He shoots, but again Rampage defends on his feet. The two trade knees and tie up. Again, the crowd grows restless. Rampage throws a left that Hamill blocks, but lands a right to the body. Hamill then ties things up on the fence as the crowd again boos. Halfway through the round, they break. Hamill misses a jab. But Rampage lands a nice left that seems to wobble Hamill for a moment. Hamill seems tired. He thinks he catches a low blow, but Herb Dean doesn’t give him the stop. The crowd really boos now as Hamill throws a lazy punch. Rampage ties him up along the cage now with a minute left. They trade positions. Not much happening until Rampage throws a small late flurry, but it doesn’t put Hamill down. Hamill takes a knee, and a great big beer comes flying to the cage, landing on the photographers. It’s another 10-9 round for Rampage, and MMA Fighting gives him the fight 30-27.
Result: Rampage Jackson def. Matt Hamill, unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
LAS VEGAS — This is the UFC 130 live blog for Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Matt Hamill, the main event of tonight’s pay-per-view at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Jackson (31-8, 6-2 UFC) is coming off a split decision win over fellow former light heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida at UFC 123 in November. Hamill (10-2, 9-2 UFC) has won five straight – including a controversial disqualification win over current champion Jon Jones in December 2009.
A win by Jackson could put him next in line to face Jones for the 205-pound title later this fall.
Round 1: They meet in the middle for instructions. They touch gloves. The MGM Grand reports Rampage closed as a -250 favorite to Hamill’s +200 underdog. Hamill kicks first. Rampage stays outside. Hamill throws a high kick. Hamill shoots 30 seconds in, but Rampage defends well and throws a combo to push him back. Rampage now in the center. Straight left jab from Hamill misses. High kick from Hamill misses. Rampage stalks, then lands a tight right uppercut. Right kick from Hamill is checked by Rampage, and Hamill fakes a teep to try and keep some distance. Right-left from Hamill, then a kick that Rampage tries to counter off of. Rampage nearly lands a big uppercut. Two rights from Hamill are followed by two frights from Rampage. Hamill then shoots again, but Rampage defends it with a knee to the body. Hamill goes low for a takedown, but it’s again not there. Rampage opens up a little with a right-left-right combo. Left jab from Hamill pushes Rampage back, and he misses a follow-up right. Hamill again has nothing in the form of a takedown, and Rampage gets a little offense on the break. With 25 seconds left, he has Hamill possibly hurt and backing up. Rampage seemed to control things a little more and the late flurry helped give him a 10-9 round on our card.
Round 2: High kick from Hamill opens things up, but Rampage has none of it and counters with enough to back Hamill up. Another sort-of shot from Hamill does nothing but lead to a clinch, and Rampage pushes him against the fence. Rampage throws a knee that lands to the body. Then another as he defends Hamill’s desire for a takedown. Another awkward-looking shot from Hamill leads to more Rampage offense, and he nearly lands a huge knee to the chin. They tie up briefly, then break. The crowd grows quite restless on a night that has seen just one submission and two knockouts. They dance and feint and paw jabs for a minute with little real activity. Hamill goes in again for a takedown, but Rampage again defends. A right-left-right from Rampage is the best offense of the fight so far, but Hamill doesn’t go down. Rampage follows with a big shot to the body as time winds down in the frame. MMA Fighting gives the second to Rampage, 10-9.
Round 3: Quick start with a left from Rampage. Hamill has to believe he needs to finish the fight to get a victory. He shoots, but again Rampage defends on his feet. The two trade knees and tie up. Again, the crowd grows restless. Rampage throws a left that Hamill blocks, but lands a right to the body. Hamill then ties things up on the fence as the crowd again boos. Halfway through the round, they break. Hamill misses a jab. But Rampage lands a nice left that seems to wobble Hamill for a moment. Hamill seems tired. He thinks he catches a low blow, but Herb Dean doesn’t give him the stop. The crowd really boos now as Hamill throws a lazy punch. Rampage ties him up along the cage now with a minute left. They trade positions. Not much happening until Rampage throws a small late flurry, but it doesn’t put Hamill down. Hamill takes a knee, and a great big beer comes flying to the cage, landing on the photographers. It’s another 10-9 round for Rampage, and MMA Fighting gives him the fight 30-27.
Result: Rampage Jackson def. Matt Hamill, unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
The UFC 130 fight card is one that won’t bring anywhere near as much attention as UFC 129 did, but there is still a good amount of drama to be had and jockeying for rankings to be done.The scheduled main event of Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard wo…
The UFC 130 fight card is one that won’t bring anywhere near as much attention as UFC 129 did, but there is still a good amount of drama to be had and jockeying for rankings to be done.
The scheduled main event of Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard would have certainly helped the buyrate for this pay-per-view, though the new main event of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Matt Hamill may end up actually being a more important fight for the long-term future of one fighter.
Of course, I’m talking about Rampage.
Once considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest 205-pound fighter on the face of the planet, Jackson has fallen back quite a bit since defeating Keith Jardine in the main event at UFC 96.
It was after that event when Jackson signed on to coach The Ultimate Fighter against “Suga” Rashad Evans. The fight was built up for months and despite the two fighters having no real prior “heat,” it ended up being one of the most anticipated fights in UFC history—and it wasn’t even for a title.
Jackson was thoroughly dominated by Evans’ takedowns and looked to be on his way to losing the fight, but fought back in the third round. Jackson clipped Evans and nearly finished him, but the fight eventually went to a decision which unanimously went in favor of Rashad.
The loss seemed to be mentally tough on Jackson, who took six months before his next fight against another former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Lyoto Machida, last November. But a second disappointing performance in a row lead fans to question whether or not Jackson still “has it.”
What’s interesting is that Jackson actually won the fight against Machida.
A win over a fighter who only had one previous loss on his career record would normally be considered a high point in many MMA fighters’ careers, but you could literally see the disappointment on Jackson’s face even as the scores were being announced. He even went so far as to say that he thought that the judges made the wrong decision in giving him the victory and that he would love to give Machida a rematch.
How weird is that?
Now with this fight against Matt Hamill, Jackson may be at a crossroads in his career. Does he put on a performance that reminds us of the Rampage of old; or does he drop further into the downward spiral that has become his recent career?
UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones recently mentioned that he believes his next title defense will actually be against Lyoto Machida or Rampage Jackson. Of course, that’s assuming a win over Matt Hamill. Without that, the UFC obviously couldn’t justify giving Jackson a title shot…And given Hamill’s awful performance against Jones in their fight, they can’t give a title shot to him, either.
Saturday could very well be the most important night of Quinton Jackson’s mixed martial arts career. He’s back in the spotlight, a title shot may be on the line and his entire future in the sport may just up for debate if he loses.
LAS VEGAS – Of all the fighters in the UFC’s reasonably stacked light heavyweight division, Matt Hamill is among the hottest.
And despite five straight wins, he doesn’t seem to mind being a little overlooked – for now. Sure, one of those wins was a disqualification victory against Jon Jones, Jones’ only loss, on a technicality in a fight he was dominating. But Hamill has been asking for the kind of fights that will move him from middle-of-the-pack fighter to top contender.
Against Quinton Jackson on Saturday in the main event of UFC 130, a win would quickly elevate him in the division. Jackson is a nearly 3/1 favorite, but that doesn’t bother Hamill (10-2, 9-2 UFC).
“I’ve probably been the underdog for the last five fights,” Hamill said at Wednesday’s pre-fight press conference at the MGM Grand. “I love to be the underdog.”
A closer look at Hamill’s history with the oddsmakers reveals that this is only the fourth time he’s been an underdog in the UFC – and the first three were against his Season 3 housemate on “The Ultimate Fighter,” Michael Bisping, Rich Franklin and Jon Jones. Along with Jackson, underdog status is understandable for all those fights.
But Hamill’s point is not lost – he’s kicked around in the middle of the division, and he’s ready to make the leap. Count UFC president Dana White as someone who has noticed.
“Obviously Rampage Jackson is one of the best in the world at 205 pounds,” White said. “This is a huge fight for Matt Hamill. He’s had some good wins – he beat (Keith) Jardine, (Mark) Munoz, Tito (Ortiz). A win over Rampage would be huge. This is one of those career-defining moments for Matt Hamill should he be able to pull off the win on Saturday night.”
But Hamill last week alluded to the stair-step mentality he has taken in his career. His dominant unanimous decision win at UFC 121 last fall over Ortiz, his coach on Season 3 of TUF, is what he believes pushed him to the level that has him a shot against Jackson, a former light heavyweight champ, on Saturday.
“It’s going to help me improve my career,” Hamill said through his translator. “Beating Tito definitely put me in line to get some big fights like this, and I knew I was ready for the next level. I’m just really glad I’m here.”
It was a fight that Jackson initially didn’t want much to do with, and Hamill said he understood why and didn’t blame him – that Jackson should be taking on fighters in the Top 5. But when Hamill said his goal was to break Jackson’s will, Jackson emerged from the land of apathy and got into the fight.
“I think Matt made a mistake when he actually said that he’s going to break my will and that I’m going to overlook him,” Jackson said. “It actually lit a fire up under my ass and made me try a little bit harder just so I can break his will – so I can make sure I outclass him. That’s why I worked a lot on my wrestling, a lot extra on my cardio and extra on getting up off my back just in case he does take me down.”
That’s just where Hamill plans on taking the fight, saying he believes Jackson has become too reliant upon his standup game through the years and less focused on his wrestling. “That’s why I want him,” Hamill said.
Six straight wins in the light heavyweight division, a feat matched right now only by Phil Davis thanks to Jones’ DQ loss, would be enough to put the upper echelon of the class on notice. Forget questions about Jackson’s motivation for the fight. Hamill has his own motivation.
“I figured Rampage would be eying Rashad Evans or a rematch with Forrest Griffin or what have you,” Hamill said. “I thought that Rampage would believe that this match is not in his league. But it’s my next chance to prove that I am in his league.”
At UFC 130, Matt “The Hammer” Hamill will headline a PPV for the first time in his career against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Despite being born deaf, Hamill has become a star in of the world’s most difficult and dangerous sports, MMA….
Despite being born deaf, Hamill has become a star in of the world’s most difficult and dangerous sports, MMA.
Hamill is riding a five-fight winning streak that dates back to 2008.
Despite this, the odds are against Hamill. Although he has not had a KO victory since 2008, Jackson is still a dangerous striker and considered one of the top five light heavyweights in the world.
This is a fight Hamill had to take in order to prove he wants to make a serious title run.
But Hamill will need to do more than just win this fight to be seriously considered a top contender.
While he has wins over impressive fighters, Hamill’s 11-2 record may not be as impressive as it seems.
For starters, he was completely dominated by current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones in their fight. Hamill was well on his way to being TKO’d before the referee disqualified Jones.
Hamill’s next fight was a close battle with Keith Jardine. Jardine was deducted a point in the fight leading the judges’ scorecard to give the fight to Hamill by majority decision.
Although Hamill dominated Tito Ortiz in his most recent fight, Ortiz is far removed from the fighter he was when he was light heavyweight champion.
Hamill is a good fighter who has overcome a lot. But he’ll have to win out against top competition if he wants a title push.
That competition will not be easy to get through. The light heavyweight division features the likes of former champions Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida, Forrest Griffin, and Shogun Rua fighting for position. Also in the division is up-and-comer Phil Davis, who is a perfect 9-0.
MMA is a sport where anything can go. And with the way things have gone in the UFC lately, a top contender could be moved out of position due to injury.
In any case, Hamill will have some work to do if he wants to be considered a legit title contender. Beating Rampage would be a good start.
What do the Bleachers think? Is Matt Hamill on his way to being a title contender with a win?
With UFC 130 about to finally kick off less than 24 hours from now, there is little analysis or predictions left to be done for this particular card.However, nobody has yet took a gander to predict who will be taking home those big, fat submission, kno…
With UFC 130 about to finally kick off less than 24 hours from now, there is little analysis or predictions left to be done for this particular card.
However, nobody has yet took a gander to predict who will be taking home those big, fat submission, knockout, and fight of the night bonuses.
Score!
While most have been critical of this card and its lack of intriguing fights, there could be a few surprises in store for us tomorrow night.
Even though the main event leaves much to be desired, the rest of the undercard has a few pretty interesting fights that could turn out to be entertaining.
Anyway, enough of that. Now on to the predictions.
LAS VEGAS — This is the 
LAS VEGAS – Of all the fighters in the UFC’s reasonably stacked light heavyweight division,