(Who saw this coming? We did, that’s who. Photo via Getty.)
Until his initial retirement back in August of 2011, Matt Hamill was considered by most to be a perennial contender at 205 lbs., a fierce grappler with ever-improving striking and a positively inspirational member of the deaf community. While the latter accolade still remains true two years and one unretirement later, the former have seemingly (and sadly) all but vanished in Hamill’s recent octagon appearances.
I was ready to make this decision after UFC 130 but my friends, family coaches and most importantly my daughter encouraged me to give it one last chance. My career has been plagued by injuries starting with The Ultimate Fighter and disrupted my training ever since.
There hasn’t been even one training camp where I’ve been able to train without training around an injury. I have not been kind to my body and it has nothing left after 28 years of non stop competition. It’s time to finally give it a rest.
I have fallen in love with the sport of Mixed Martial Arts and I will continue to coach at our gym Mohawk Valley MMA along side my teammates and help the next generation of fighters make it to the UFC.
You see, that’s the thing that has irked us most about Hamill’s decision to unretire (and we’ve mentioned this before) — his retirement, this statement, was just so, appropriate. Hamill seemed self-aware, he seemed content, and most of all, he seemed comfortable with the legacy he had left behind while understanding that his time — as a fighter, at least — had come and gone. It was a mature, thoughtful decision not often reached by most combat sports athletes, let alone MMA fighters. It was closure.
Less than a year after making said decision, Hamill recanted on it. And now, rather than retire with the aforementioned sense of closure, it appears that Hamill has been released by the UFC following his disheartening loss to Thiago Silva at Fight Night 29. God only knows what lies in store for “The Hammer” now.
(Who saw this coming? We did, that’s who. Photo via Getty.)
Until his initial retirement back in August of 2011, Matt Hamill was considered by most to be a perennial contender at 205 lbs., a fierce grappler with ever-improving striking and a positively inspirational member of the deaf community. While the latter accolade still remains true two years and one unretirement later, the former have seemingly (and sadly) all but vanished in Hamill’s recent octagon appearances.
I was ready to make this decision after UFC 130 but my friends, family coaches and most importantly my daughter encouraged me to give it one last chance. My career has been plagued by injuries starting with The Ultimate Fighter and disrupted my training ever since.
There hasn’t been even one training camp where I’ve been able to train without training around an injury. I have not been kind to my body and it has nothing left after 28 years of non stop competition. It’s time to finally give it a rest.
I have fallen in love with the sport of Mixed Martial Arts and I will continue to coach at our gym Mohawk Valley MMA along side my teammates and help the next generation of fighters make it to the UFC.
You see, that’s the thing that has irked us most about Hamill’s decision to unretire (and we’ve mentioned this before) — his retirement, this statement, was just so, appropriate. Hamill seemed self-aware, he seemed content, and most of all, he seemed comfortable with the legacy he had left behind while understanding that his time — as a fighter, at least — had come and gone. It was a mature, thoughtful decision not often reached by most combat sports athletes, let alone MMA fighters. It was closure.
Less than a year after making said decision, Hamill recanted on it. And now, rather than retire with the aforementioned sense of closure, it appears that Hamill has been released by the UFC following his disheartening loss to Thiago Silva at Fight Night 29. God only knows what lies in store for “The Hammer” now.
Although Hamill insisted that he had *finally* recovered from the nagging training injuries that had affected him for years upon returning to the sport in early 2012 (sound familiar?), his “comeback” performance against Roger Hollett — who holds the distinct honor of being brought in as a late-notice injury replacement for himself — at UFC 152 spoke quite to the contrary. The fight was tough to watch for a multitude of reasons, the most damning of which being Hamill’s sloppy, tired performance against a similarly gassed fighter he would have rolled through less than a year prior.
We tried writing off Hamill’s performance as the result of ring rust, but don’t we always with guys we generally wish the best for? When he was paired with Thiago Silva at Fight Night 29, however, we reacted with legitimate fear. To borrow a much-overused phrase, Hamill had nothing left to prove. Likewise, the beating he was surely set to endure would only tarnish the legacy he had worked so hard to build.
It was by the grace of God that Silva showed up in as poor of shape as he did, because we can only imagine what he would have done to Hamill had he put a good training camp in. Within two rounds, Hamill was literally staggering around the octagon as a result of Silva’s leg kicks, his hands on his hips, too tired to even return fire. While happening upon a replay of the fight at a bar some two days later, my father could only muster to me that “the white guy looks like he just stumbled out of here and into that ring.” It was a surprisingly accurate assessment.
Of course, the obvious counter to my long-winded lament is, “Who are you to decide when a fighter should retire?” And I have no counter for your counter, other than to simply ask, ”Have Hamill’s past two fights done anything to *improve* your image of him?” Were the last couple paychecks he received worth the abuse and humiliation?
I write this as a fan, Matt. I write this as someone who has followed your MMA career from the beginning. Hell, I write this as a fellow human being. Please, see this as a sign. See this as a sign to be the exception to the rule, as you have been your entire career, and retire (again) before you inflict anymore unnecessary punishment on yourself. Because the last thing this sport needs is another fighter who simply refuses to accept his mortality.
Oh yeah, and it looks like David Mitchell and Nandor Guelmino have been fired as well. Their career eulogies are forthcoming.
(Kim vs. Silva: The moment of impact, and the aftermath. / Photos via Getty)
I wouldn’t call yesterday’s UFC Fight Night event a great card, necessarily — the headlining bout was predictably slow, and the main card broadcast dragged in the middle thanks to the light-heavyweights. Still, there were enough violent, surprising, and awful moments at UFC Fight Night 29 to make it worth discussing. So let’s talk about the interesting stuff first, and work our way down to the crap.
Rousimar’s heel-hook was the only submission on the card, and would be worthy of a $50,000 Submission of the Night bonus even if there were other subs to compete with. Instead, the UFC decided to withhold the SOTN bonus due to Palhares’s “unsportsmanlike conduct,” and UFC President Dana White claimed that Palhares would receive an additional punishment for his actions. Palhares previously received a 90-day slap on the wrist** for holding a heel-hook against Tomasz Drwal at UFC 111. Maybe the next punishment will be severe enough for him to actually pay attention.
* By the way, when Palhares showed up in the cage, he almost looked like the old Palhares again. Ah, the miracle of rehydration.
(Kim vs. Silva: The moment of impact, and the aftermath. / Photos via Getty)
I wouldn’t call yesterday’s UFC Fight Night event a great card, necessarily — the headlining bout was predictably slow, and the main card broadcast dragged in the middle thanks to the light-heavyweights. Still, there were enough violent, surprising, and awful moments at UFC Fight Night 29 to make it worth discussing. So let’s talk about the interesting stuff first, and work our way down to the crap.
Rousimar’s heel-hook was the only submission on the card, and would be worthy of a $50,000 Submission of the Night bonus even if there were other subs to compete with. Instead, the UFC decided to withhold the SOTN bonus due to Palhares’s “unsportsmanlike conduct,” and UFC President Dana White claimed that Palhares would receive an additional punishment for his actions. Palhares previously received a 90-day slap on the wrist** for holding a heel-hook against Tomasz Drwal at UFC 111. Maybe the next punishment will be severe enough for him to actually pay attention.
* By the way, when Palhares showed up in the cage, he almost looked like the old Palhares again. Ah, the miracle of rehydration.
While Palhares’s victory was the most savage stoppage on the card, it certainly wasn’t the most surprising. That honor goes to Dong Hyun Kim, who was getting soundly lit up by Erick Silva until Kim ended the fight with a blazing overhand left in round two. Of course, this fight wasn’t without controversy either. Earlier in the round, Kim blatantly grabbed the fence to avoid being taken to the mat by Silva. The ref warned him about it — but didn’t pause the action or deduct a point — and the next thing you know, DHK uncorked a one-hitter quitter. Basically, it was the greatest use of an illegal fence grab since Jose Aldo did the exact same thing against Chad Mendes at UFC 142. All together, now…”YOU SHOULD ALWAYS CHEAT IN AN MMA FIGHT.” Kim is now on a three-fight win streak in the welterweight division, and earned the first Knockout of the Night bonus of his UFC career.
So let’s talk about those light-heavyweights, huh? Thiago Silva managed to save his job by beating Matt Hamill via decision, but it wasn’t pretty. Hamill started aggressively (as he often does), before fading later in the fight (as he often does). To a large extent, you can credit that to Silva’s relentless leg kicks, which jolted Hamill around the cage and stole much of his mobility. By the end of round three, Hamill was just looking to be put out of his misery. Every leg kick from Silva had him stumbling around in a circle, and Hamill was too exhausted to even stay upright, leaning over at the waist several times with his head completely exposed to further abuse. Silva landed strikes at will, but couldn’t find the strength to deliver a merciful death-blow, which suggested that Silva might have been pretty gassed himself. When the final bell sounded, Thiago Silva had staved off the reaper of unemployment, and Hamill proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he should have stayed retired.
Speaking of fighters who faded deep into the fight, Raphael Assuncao and T.J. Dillashaw earned UFC Fight Night 29′s Fight of the Night bonuses, despite the fact that the third round was eerily quiet, with both fighters (but especially Dillashaw) seemingly losing interest in attacking. Dillashaw started off as the aggressor both on the feet and on the mat, and managed to take the Brazilian’s back for a portion of the round. But Assuncao shifted the momentum in the second frame, landing more of his shots and bloodying the face of Dillashaw.
Just when Dillashaw should have picked up the pace in the decisive final round, he took his foot off the gas, steadily walking toward Assuncao but not really doing anything productive. Outside of a few counter-punches, Assuncao seemed to be cool with riding the clock out as well, which he did en route to a split-decision win. The crowd booed the lack of activity during round three, and yet this was officially the best fight on the card. Hmm. Personally, I would have given that honor to Kim vs. Silva — who doesn’t love a comeback knockout? — but maybe the UFC wanted to spread the bonus money around a little more.
Jake Shields‘s split-decision win over Demian Maia was impressive in theory, but not particularly fun to watch. We have to give Shields props for going into enemy territory and out-grappling a grappler who was supposed to be better than him. And he absolutely did that, securing more dominant positions against Maia and abusing the Brazilian with punches and elbows from the top whenever the opportunities presented themselves. The question is, will a methodical 25-minute ground battle do anything to raise Jake’s stock in the welterweight division? Short answer: Hell no. There are too many exciting contenders currently clogging up the top of the 170-pound ladder, and once again, Shields proved that his fights are not required viewing. Seven bouts into his UFC career, he’s still looking for his first stoppage victory, and he’s never been worthy of a Fight of the Night bonus. Being a great fighter means nothing if the fans and the promotion don’t care.
As for Fabio Maldonado vs. Joey Beltran…ugh, what can you say, really? Some ugly brawls are fun to watch, some are just ugly. Maldonado proved that even in victory, he can’t avoid getting his face torn to shit, and that he’ll make it a close fight even when he doesn’t have to. Beltran proved that he might not even be a Bellator-caliber fighter, although we’ll leave that to Viacom to decide.
Main Card
Jake Shields def. Demian Maia via split decision (48-47 x 2, 47-48)
Dong Hyun Kim def. Erick Silva via KO, 3:01 of round 2
Thiago Silva def. Mat Hamill via unanimous decision (30-27 x 2, 29-28)
Fabio Maldonado def. Joey Beltran via split decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29)
Rousimar Palhares def. Mike Pierce via submission (heel hook), 0:31 of round 1
Raphael Assuncao def. T.J. Dillashaw via split decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29)
Preliminary Card
Igor Araujo def. Ildemar Alcantara via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
Yan Cabral def. David Mitchell via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
Chris Cariaso def. Iliarde Santos via TKO, 4:31 of round 2
Alan Patrick def. Garett Whiteley via TKO, 3:54 of round 1
UFC Fight Night 29 was an interesting event for many of the wrong reasons. Demian Maia’s loss to Jake Shields threw the welterweight division further down the path of confusion, Thiago Silva and Matt Hamill re-enacted Kimbo Slice versus Houston Alexand…
UFC Fight Night 29 was an interesting event for many of the wrong reasons. Demian Maia’s loss to Jake Shields threw the welterweight division further down the path of confusion, Thiago Silva and Matt Hamill re-enacted Kimbo Slice versus Houston Alexander, and Joey Beltran managed to make Fabio Maldonado look sharp on the feet.
Even with some bad fights on Wednesday, however, stories unfold through the various stanzas, twists and turns. Some endings are foreshadowed in the opening act, such as Dong Hyun Kim’s knockout of Erick Silva. Other fights take a complete turnaround as the bout progresses, such as Thiago Silva versus Matt Hamill.
Erick Silva: Live by the Sword, Die by the Sword
To get straight down to business, Erick Silva was surprisingly starched by Dong Hyun Kim. “Stun Gun” has always been a peculiar nickname for Kim, with 10 of his 18 career wins coming by way of a grinding decision victory, but he certainly lived up the the moniker in this bout.
Kim is peculiar as a striker because his striking manages to commit the dual cardinal sins of being both wild and predictable. Normally a fighter who does unorthodox things is a little intimidating because of the “anything can happen” factor, but Kim will pick a showy move and abuse it repeatedly throughout the length of a bout.
Against Sean Pierson, Kim threw more crane kicks than you can count on both hands, and I shouldn’t have to point out that this is probably too many. Against Silva, however, it was the spinning backfist that Kim missed several times but repeatedly attempted anyway.
One of the points that this fight so beautifully illustrated is that if a fighter can wrestle so well that it forces a compensation in striking method from his opponent, he can start outstriking them too. Just as with Cain Velasquez versus Junior dos Santos or Georges St. Pierre versus anyone: If a fighter has to focus on stuffing takedowns, he will more than likely open himself up for strikes.
Erick Silva punches with his non-striking hand low. This is pretty common among strikers attempting to compensate for a lack of wrestling pedigree. Junior dos Santos does it routinely. It basically means that while Silva tries his luck at taking his opponent’s head off as they come in, he will still have an underhookshould he miss.
I am sure that I don’t have to point out the shortcomings of this method. Boxers realized way back when that the most common instance in which to get knocked out is in exchanging punches. Gradually word got around that keeping the non-punching hand high could minimize the risk of such embarrassments.
Here is Georges Carpentier demonstrating it way back in the 1920s.
One can punch with the non-punching hand out of position, but something else should be done to alleviate the ever-present danger of an exchange. The head should be moved, a side step should be incorporated or the opponent’s hand should be checked. Silva did none of these things and got caught standing straight upright by Kim, who also had his non-punching hand low, but moved his head to avoid Silva’s punch.
Silva was unfortunate to get caught against an opponent who has never exhibited especially skilled striking, but carrying the hands low to hinder the wrestler is a double-edged sword. Chuck Liddell lived and died by it in the Octagon and it will work the same way for others.
Say what you want about Quinton Jackson, but even at his worst he was one of the best fighters in the world at stuffing takedowns without unnecessarily exposing himself to strikes. His hands were seemingly always high and active or underneath his opponent’s armpits as they attempted to shoot on him.
Hamill versus Thiago Silva: Kimbo versus Houston II?
This bout was by far the most disappointing bout of the night for many. Matt Hamill, coming back from retirement—and having been in sharp decline before that—probably shouldn’t have been fighting. This had all the marks of a gimme match for Thiago Silva (no relation to Erick).
Thiago Silva, despite being a headache for UFC brass, still has the potential to be one of the more exciting fighters at 205 lbs. On paper this match almost guaranteed him a highlight-reel knockout in front of a Brazilian crowd.
In actuality we were treated to the best Matt Hamill in years for the first three minutes. Hamill surprised most of us by coming forward—exactly as Silva wants in all of his fights—and kickboxing Silva. What’s more, he did it pretty well.
Silva’s modusoperandion the feet has always been to stand directly in front of his opponent and hope that they oblige him. When they do, as Rafael Feijao and Keith Jardine did, Silva can look brilliant with his hard catch-and-pitch counters. When they don’t, he can work himself up and charge face first into a beatdown, as he did against LyotoMachida and Alexander Gustafsson.
Hamill obliged Silva and hit him with hard low kicks, jabs and body shots. It didn’t last, however, and a mildly entertaining gave over to two rounds of both men gassing.
While Silva was expected to run out of breath, having come in significantly overweight and being fined 25 percent of his purse as a result, Hamill’s continuous work to the body and insistence that he was in good shape should have made this bout easier for Hamill as it progressed.
It is hard to take away good technical points from a bout where both fighters are so exhausted and fighting so sloppily, but there were a couple of important moments.
The first time Hamill was hurt was in answer to his low kicks. If one throws rear-leg low kicks without a proper setup, it is pretty much guaranteeing the opponent will eventually step in, jam the low kick and counterpunch.
Gokhan Saki uses right low kicks without a setup pretty routinely to draw his opponent into walking him down and thereby setting up his own counters, as I examined in my Glory 11 preview.
The second point to take away is the long cross counter that Silva hurt Hamill with late in the bout.
Both men were exhausted so it looked awful, but the long cross counter is slipping to the elbow side of a jab, lifting the opponent’s head with a counter left hand and attempting to catch him with a long right hand over the top while his head is up but before he can back away. This is a variant of the cross counter because it still effectively crosses over the opponent’s jabbing hand (if the jabber is pulling back into guard, though Hamill was too exhausted).
The final point to take away from this bout is that Thiago Silva seems to be one of the least coachable fighters in the sport. His attitude during fights and even in his corner, refusing to face his coach, is not indicative of a mature, adaptive fighter.
The fight concluded with Hamill barely able to keep himself from resting on his laurels, while Thiago Silva was going all out and couldn’t finish. Silva is a very talented and entertaining fighter, I truly hope he can work himself through whatever is causing this career meltdown and return to the form he carried through his first 13 bouts.
For Hamill’s part, it was brave to come back and his story has always been one which I admire, but you cannot age gracefully in the fight game. Past accomplishments and achievements do not stop a fighter from getting hit. If we see Hamill inside the Octagon again, it could end much worse than this bout did.
Pick up Jack’s eBooksAdvanced Striking and Elementary Striking from his blog, Fights Gone By.
Handling the play-by-play for the FOX Sports 1 main card is Seth Falvo, who will be stacking live results and his own deep thoughts after the jump beginning at 7 p.m. ET. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and please toss your own thoughts into the comments section.
(“Alright homey, let’s give these fans what they paid for — 25 minutes of evenly-matched grappling stalemates.” / Photo via Getty)
Handling the play-by-play for the FOX Sports 1 main card is Seth Falvo, who will be stacking live results and his own deep thoughts after the jump beginning at 7 p.m. ET. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and please toss your own thoughts into the comments section.
Preliminary card results Igor Araujo def. Ildemar Alcantara by unanimous decision
Yan Cabral def. David Mitchell by unanimous decision
Chris Cariaso def. Iliarde Santos by TKO, 4:31 Round Two
Alan Patrick def. Garett Whiteley by TKO, 3:45 Round One
Please stand by…
Good evening everyone – pleasure for me to be bringing you live results. I hope you didn’t buy into that “deep thoughts” nonsense that Ben tried to sell you on. Honestly, if I make it through this with only one semi-related GIF, only one obscure professional wrestling reference, and only five hundred typos, I’ll consider this liveblog a smashing success.
AND WE ARE LIVE!!!
I happen to be watching the fights this evening from the classiest place imaginable. Well, classiest place that will allow me to furiously tap at a keyboard and swear at a television, that is (I’m at a suburban Buffalo Wild Wings outside of New Orleans. Judge me, bro). KenFlo’s hair looks magnificent, there’s an Ultimate Fighter preview on tv, and all is right in the world. Alright, let’s do this:
Raphael Assuncao vs. T.J. Dillashaw
Round One: Nice leg kick from Raphael to start us of. Dillashaw is swinging for the fences early, but not really connecting. They’re feeling each other out, throwing leg kicks that occasionally land. Dillashaw with a nice takedown, but Assuncao is soon back to his feet. Head kick from Dillashaw gets caught by Assuncao, but Dillashaw escapes. There’s a scramble, and Dillashaw not has Assuncao’s back! He’s working for a standing rear-naked choke, and Assuncao is now on the mat. He’s got room to breathe though. Dillashaw gives up on the choke attempt, and Assuncao manages to escape. They’re back on their feet now. Dillashaw attempts a front kick as the round comes to an end.
Round Two: They touch gloves, and Assuncao immediately throws a leg kick. Another one lands for Assuncao. He now attempts a head kick, but it misses. Dillashaw now does the same thing. Dillashaw throws a body kick, and Assuncao catches it, landing a nice straight. Dillashaw lands another takedown, pinning Assuncao against the cage. They’re back to their feet, and Dillashaw throws another head kick. Assuncao trips, then attempts a takedown that is stuffed by Dillashaw. Once again, Dillashaw has Assuncao’s back, but Assuncao escapes and we’re back to the feet. Lots of blood now, but I can’t tell who is bleeding.
Um, is this a mid-round commercial break? Dafuq?
Round Three: We’re back, and both guys are feeling each other out with the occasional leg kick. So far, I got Dillashaw winning both rounds…you know, in case you care to trust the guy who just got confused by a commercial break. Assuncao catches another kick, and works for another takedown that Dillashaw stuffs immediately. Dillashaw appears to be cut above his right eye. Two minutes left in this one. Assuncao is landing some nice counter strikes, but unless he gets the KO, I think it’ll be too little too late. One minute left now, and Assuncao misses with a kick. Assuncao now has Dillashaw clinched up against the cage, but Dillashaw escapes. This fight comes to an end, and I have Dillashaw taking it, 29-28. Let’s see if the refs agree…
Only one does. Raphael Assuncao def. T.J. Dillashaw by split decision.
Rousimar Palhares vs. Mike Pierce
Round One:Pierce immediately rushes Palhares, and immediately regrets his decision by nearly getting caught in a heel hook. He escapes, and proceeds to get caught in a heel hook that actually ends the fight.
Official Result: Rousimar Palhares def. Mike Pierce via submission (heel hook), 0:31 of Round One. Bold prediction [/sarcasm]: This will be the submission of the night.
We’ve now got Chael Sonnen and Brian Stann doing their best to convince us that Thiago Silva vs. Matt Hamill will be worth watching. That’s neat, I guess…
That segment is wisely followed up by a UFC 166 preview.
Fabio Maldonado vs. Joey Beltran
Round One: They touch gloves, and Beltran is throwing combinations early and often. He now has Fabio clinched against the cage, and…ouch, that’s gotta hurt. Is it me, or is Maldonado like, reaaalllllyyyy prone to nut shots? Okay, we’re back. Beltran is throwing, but Maldonado is doing a good job avoiding his punches. They clinch against the cage again, and Beltran looks for a standing guillotine. Maldonado with a few nice body shots, and Beltran is now incorporating a wall-and-stall heavy offense, with a few knees and elbows sprinkled in . Beltran swings for the fences, but Maldonado avoids his haymakers. He can’t escape from the cage though. Beltran lands a nice straight right, and Fabio seems dazed. The round ends with Maldonado taunting Beltran, who I think was busy enough to take the round.
Round Two: Maldonado begins the round with a double thumbs-up. I approve. Beltran is throwing some heavy strikes, but Maldonado is doing a nice job avoiding and countering. Beltran rushes Maldonado against the cage, and both men are now letting their hands go. Beltran clinches Maldonado against the cage, and lands a really nice knee. Yamasaki separates them, as Maldonado appears to have dropped his mouth guard. Beltran attempts to get Fabio back against the cage, but Maldonado gets away. This fight now has both men clinching in the center of the cage, throwing body shots. They separate, with Beltran blitzing Maldonado in an attempt to get his back against the cage, as this round comes to an end. Good fight.
Round Three: We’ve got more combinations, more Beltran clinching against the cage, a foul (this time Beltran is on the business end), blood, more clinching, some nice knees from Beltran, and these two hug it out at the end of the fight. What can I say, I decided to be efficient this round.
Fabio Maldonado def. Joey Beltran via split decision.
Thiago Silva vs. Matt Hamill
I do not feel good about this…
Round One: Hamill has officially lasted longer than Mike Pierce did…so, you know, there’s that. Leg kick Hamill. And another, that Silva counters with a huge right hand. Leg kick Silva. Hamill with a nice body shot there. Two minutes left in the round, with Silva missing with a vicious haymaker. Hamill is doing a good job avoiding Silva’s heavier shopts, but Silva has had success with leg kicks throughout the round. Much closer first round than I was anticipating.
Round Two: Hamill catches Silva early, but Silva recovers. Hamill is keeping his hands dangerously low, as Silva is still catching Hamill with leg kicks. Some awkward, slow combinations from Hamill…that Silva barely misses. My this fight is sad. Silva now has Hamill’s back and is throwing punches, but Hamill escapes. The fight returns to a slow, sloppy kickboxing match, until Hamill takes Silva’s back against the cage. Hamill now has Silva on the ground, but can’t finish the fight before this round mercifully comes to an end.
Round Three: You know what? Screw liveblogging this fight. Play us off, wrestler GIF.
Thiago Silva def. Matt Hamill via unanimous decision.
Erick Silva vs. Dong-Hyun Kim
Whoa, technical difficulties here! Don’t get too excited though, because I’m back. Anyways, Kim’s grinding style works well in neutralizing Silva for most of the fight, and then Kim connects with a HUGE overhand right left, knocking Silva out cold. Awesome victory for Kim!
Dong-Hyun Kim def. Erick Silva via KO, 3:01 Round Two
Main event time!
Demian Maia vs. Jake Shields
Round One: No glove touch here, as Shields opens up with some leg kicks. Maia shoots for a takedown, and now has Shields against the cage looking for the takedown. He eventually gets it, and is in Shields’ guard. Maia looks to transition, but Shields’ butterfly guard is strong, and is controlling Maia’s hips well. Shields gets to his feet, and works for a takedown of his own now. Maia reverses, and lands another takedown. Shields gets up, but gives Maia his back in the process. Shields escapes, and gets Maia down. Maia has shields in his half guard, and gains full guard as Shields attempts to pass to side control. Shields attempts to pass guard, but Maia isn’t having it. Shields throws a few punches now, as Maia is now throwing punches from the bottom. The round ends with Shields in Maia’s guard.
Round Two: Shields opens the round with a few kicks, and then shoots for a takedown. Maia stuffs it, and looks for a takedown of his own now. Shields counters that takedown, and is in Maia’s half guard against the cage. Maia has full guard now. Shields is working for elbows, as Maia looks for a way back to his feet. Shields is back in Maia’s half guard, as Maia looks for a triangle. Shields avoids it, as Maia uses the butterfly guard to try to get a little space. Shields is content to control space – not exactly a bad strategy when you’re grappling against a guy like Maia. To Maia’s credit, he’s been looking for submissions and passes for the entire round, as this one comes to an end.
Round Three: Shields with another leg kick, and throws a head kick as well. Maia with a straight left, and misses with another one. Body shot Maia. Big left from Maia, as Shields decides he’s done pretending to be a kickboxer and shoots for a takedown. Maia reverses it, and now has Shields against the cage. Shields counters the takedown nicely, and now they’re back on the feet. Maia rocks Shields, and has Shields’ back. He gets the takedown, and has Shields’ back. AWESOME reversal from Shields, and he’s in Maia’s guard. Both guys are punching each other from Maia’s guard, as Shields now passes to Maia’s half-guiard. Maia throwing some ineffective punches from the bottom, as Shields begins to throw a few hammerfists. Shields throws a few elbows, as this round comes to an end.
Round Four: They feel each other out, and Shields rushes in for a double-leg takedown. Shields has Maia against the cage, but Maia reverses, and throws a knee against the cage. Shields reverses position now, and the ref has seen enough. He separates them, and Shields immediately shoots for a single leg. He’s unable to get it, and looks frustrated. He shoots for another, and Maia stuffs it. Maia is in Shields’ guard, with just under two minutes to go. Maia with some body shots, and we’ve got yet another stand-up. Eh, I’ve seen more than enough sloppy kickboxing from Silva/Hamill, but it’s not the worst stand-up I’ve seen. Maia gets the better of the exchanges as this round comes to an end. Both guys look exhausted.
Round Five: It’s been a close fight, as Shields is working his jab early and often to start things off. Maia is throwing some heavy shots, but he’s coming up short with most of them. Shields shoots for a takedown, but Maia stuffs it. Shields with a kick. Shields shoots for another takedown, but Maia stays on his feet. Maia now has Shields against the cage, but Shields escapes, and we’re treated to more grapplers impersonating kickboxers. Delightful. Maia lands a nice left hand, and Shields lands a kick. Shields shoots for another takedown, but Maia sprawls. Shields has Maia against the cage, but Maia works for a standing kimura. The ref separates them with less than thirty seconds to go. Maia is swinging for the fences, but Shields manages to survive until the end of the fight.
Tough call on who won this one…
The official decision is in: Jake Shields def. Demian Maia via split decision.
Eh, my parlay paid off, so I’m pretty excited. Interesting night of fights. We’ll have plenty to discuss tomorrow.
You know how broken-down, piece-of-shit houses are often advertised as “handyman’s specials“? Well, tomorrow’s UFC Fight Night 29 event in Barueri is a “grappler’s wet dream,” headlined by two welterweights known for bringing it to the mat and keeping it there for AS LONG AS IT TAKES!!! (Just trying to stay positive here, guys.) Non-Baruerians can watch the action on FOX Sports 1, and we’ll be livebogging the main card starting at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.
To keep you current on all the important themes surrounding “Maia vs. Shields,” it’s time for CagePotato founding editor Ben Goldstein and staff writer Seth Falvo to engage in some spirited debate. So how will the main event play out? What’s the best way to make money off the fights? Which fighter on the card is talented enough to be a future Bellator tournament semi-finalist? And which funny GIF will show up at the end of this post? Read on, and please toss your own opinions in the comments section.
Will Demian Maia‘s main event fight against Jake Shields go any differently than his last win against Jon Fitch? And are you already sold on Maia as a future welterweight title contender?
BG: Not all boring grapplers are the same. There can be subtle differences between boring grapplers. Jon Fitch is a guy whose single-minded focus is to take you down and lay on you until the fight ends. Jake Shields will take you down and try to submit you first, and if that’s not working out, then he’ll lay on you until the fight ends.
Here’s another difference — Fitch seems to lose a couple belt-ranks when his opponent manages to scramble onto his back. (Maia and BJ Penn were both able to hang out in back control for long stretches against Fitch, who defended himself well against rear-naked chokes, but was otherwise stuck in position.) Shields tends to be a little more active on the mat than Fitch both offensively and defensively, and unlike Fitch, Jake Shields has never been submitted in his entire career.
I see two possible outcomes here: 1) Maia and Shields recognize each other’s grappling abilities, and proceed to put on the sloppiest, stupidest kickboxing match in recent UFC history. 2) Shields tries to play jiu-jitsu with Maia, and it doesn’t work out too well for him. Either way, I’ve got the Brazilian by decision. Now would that firmly establish Maia as a title threat? Maybe not. Keep in mind that all of Maia’s opponents during his UFC welterweight run have been wrestlers. Give him the winner of UFC 167’s Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald bout after this one, and we’ll see how he handles himself in the deep end of the pool, against guys with the power to turn him upside-down.
SF: Glad to see I’m not the only person around here who has drank more than enough of the Demian Maia Kool-Aid; I’m already sold on him as a legitimate contender. But are we seriously writing off Jake Shields this easily?
I’m not about to write that Jake Shields has great striking or anything, but for a one-dimensional grappler, his Muay Thai is better than it has any business being. Yeah, I know — that’s like writing that The Wrestling Boot Band weren’t that terrible or that Pepsi Jazz was sort-of drinkable — but I’m not ready to say the same thing about Maia. Point being, if this fight stays on the feet, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see Jake Shields walk away victorious. And, who knows, Jake may even violate a CagePotato Ban and win by bringing back the old Jake Shields tomorrow night. Anything can happen in a cage fight, bro.
Looking at the gambling odds for this event, what’s the single smartest wager you could make?
You know how broken-down, piece-of-shit houses are often advertised as “handyman’s specials“? Well, tomorrow’s UFC Fight Night 29 event in Barueri is a “grappler’s wet dream,” headlined by two welterweights known for bringing it to the mat and keeping it there for AS LONG AS IT TAKES!!! (Just trying to stay positive here, guys.) Non-Baruerians can watch the action on FOX Sports 1, and we’ll be livebogging the main card starting at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.
To keep you current on all the important themes surrounding “Maia vs. Shields,” it’s time for CagePotato founding editor Ben Goldstein and staff writer Seth Falvo to engage in some spirited debate. So how will the main event play out? What’s the best way to make money off the fights? Which fighter on the card is talented enough to be a future Bellator tournament semi-finalist? And which funny GIF will show up at the end of this post? Read on, and please toss your own opinions in the comments section.
Will Demian Maia‘s main event fight against Jake Shields go any differently than his last win against Jon Fitch? And are you already sold on Maia as a future welterweight title contender?
BG: Not all boring grapplers are the same. There can be subtle differences between boring grapplers. Jon Fitch is a guy whose single-minded focus is to take you down and lay on you until the fight ends. Jake Shields will take you down and try to submit you first, and if that’s not working out, then he’ll lay on you until the fight ends.
Here’s another difference — Fitch seems to lose a couple belt-ranks when his opponent manages to scramble onto his back. (Maia and BJ Penn were both able to hang out in back control for long stretches against Fitch, who defended himself well against rear-naked chokes, but was otherwise stuck in position.) Shields tends to be a little more active on the mat than Fitch both offensively and defensively, and unlike Fitch, Jake Shields has never been submitted in his entire career.
I see two possible outcomes here: 1) Maia and Shields recognize each other’s grappling abilities, and proceed to put on the sloppiest, stupidest kickboxing match in recent UFC history. 2) Shields tries to play jiu-jitsu with Maia, and it doesn’t work out too well for him. Either way, I’ve got the Brazilian by decision. Now would that firmly establish Maia as a title threat? Maybe not. Keep in mind that all of Maia’s opponents during his UFC welterweight run have been wrestlers. Give him the winner of UFC 167’s Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald bout after this one, and we’ll see how he handles himself in the deep end of the pool, against guys with the power to turn him upside-down.
SF: Glad to see I’m not the only person around here who has drank more than enough of the Demian Maia Kool-Aid; I’m already sold on him as a legitimate contender. But are we seriously writing off Jake Shields this easily?
I’m not about to write that Jake Shields has great striking or anything, but for a one-dimensional grappler, his Muay Thai is better than it has any business being. Yeah, I know — that’s like writing that The Wrestling Boot Band weren’t that terrible or that Pepsi Jazz was sort-of drinkable — but I’m not ready to say the same thing about Maia. Point being, if this fight stays on the feet, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see Jake Shields walk away victorious. And, who knows, Jake may even violate a CagePotato Ban and win by bringing back the old Jake Shields tomorrow night. Anything can happen in a cage fight, bro.
Looking at the gambling odds for this event, what’s the single smartest wager you could make?
BG: Smartest wager? Buddy, you’re talking to the wrong guy. I’m a sucker for ridiculous underdogs, and my lifetime success rate is currently hovering right above 0%. So before we get into “smart” bets, let me just point out that Dong Hyun Kim is a +220 underdog against Erick Silva, who is a strong favorite here because he’s handsome, I guess? Seriously, DHK wrestle-fuck all day.
Now, if you’re looking for a bet that’s fiscally sound but feels risky enough to give you that adrenaline rush of actual, degenerate gambling, I like to go with the old two-fight parlay: Pick two favorites who you feel comfortable with, and stack ‘em together. Give me TJ Dillashaw from the currently-unstoppable Team Alpha Male crew, who’s sitting at -225 against Raphael Assuncao, and the aforementioned Demian Maia, who’s listed around -270. A $10 parlay bet at BetUS returns $9.23 in profit if they both win — damn-near even money for a damn-near sure thing.
SF: What lovely, practical advice you’ve just given out, Ben. Now, if you’re done being intelligent and placing sensible bets, your majesty, I have a mortgage payment that I’d like to throw away on grown men punching each other.
Jake Shields is just underrated enough to be an attractive option at +210, so I’ll gladly be a total contrarian asshole and include him in my parlay, thank you very much. The other guy in my parlay? Allan freakin’ Patrick. I’ve never seen him fight before, but he’s undefeated, he’s Brazilian, and his opponent can best be described as “Some Guy, whatever, fuck you.” All of this makes him the perfect, yet incredibly rare combination of “totally safe bet” and “complete shot in the dark.” The $32.92 that my ten bucks would make off of this parlay certainly helps his case, too. Hell, something tells me that I’d have a crippling gambling addiction if I didn’t place my next few paychecks on this…
Which fighter is most likely to show up in Bellator after this event?
SF: My gut instinct is to take the easy route, pick Thiago Silva, and throw in a semi-related GIF at some point, as is tradition. I’m sure if I spent some time researching statistics or finding out if Facebook preliminaries are still a thing, I’d have a different opinion. But I didn’t earn the reputation of “talentless hack” by doing that stuff, and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, so Thiago Silva it is
Silva is dangerously deep into Fitch/Okami territory. He’s talented enough to be a perennial “Top 10″ guy, but not enough to actually hold a belt — and he comes with a much heftier price tag than the other gatekeepers on the roster. Sure, his fan-friendly style would be an incentive to keep him around, if it weren’t for how disturbingly often the guy shoots himself in the foot (figuratively speaking [for now]). Another loss/failed drug test for Thiago Silva, and he may very well find himself under the bright lights of Viacom MMA.
BG: You’re assuming that Thiago Silva will lose to Matt Hamill, a guy with very little to offer in the year 2013, who unwisely came out of a very wise retirement and who hasn’t looked impressive since he KO’d Mark Munoz four and a half years ago. I say Silva wins that fight, so screw you.
Let’s be real: Fabio Maldonado vs. Joey Beltran will decide the unofficial winner of the Season Nine Bellator Light-Heavyweight Tournament. It’s perfect. They’re both sluggers with losing records in the UFC. You’ve heard of them, but you don’t particularly care about them. One of them is a disgraced steroid cheat. And Bellator’s light-heavyweight division is even shallower than the rest of their shallow divisions, so they could use the warm bodies.
Maldonado vs. Beltran is a classic matchup of a technical boxer vs. a let-me-bang-bro brawler, and I see “The Mexicutioner” losing a unanimous decision after being picked apart over three rounds. He will be fired by the UFC on Monday morning, and signed by Bellator on Wednesday. He will eventually be TKO’d by Attila Vegh, then test positive for steroids again and retire for three months before showing up in XARM. Hillary Clinton wins the 2016 presidential election, but it’s a close one. There’s a recount, and hostilities between the two major U.S. political parties grow even deeper and more overt. A civil war breaks out. The nuclear silos in Iowa self-destruct. Eventually, what’s left of the United States falls under the control of a shadowy dictator known only as “The Beekeeper.” Dana White dies peacefully in his sleep at the age of 112.
Thiago Silva vs. Matt Hamill…is this matchup depressing to anybody else, or is it just me?
SF: That GIF I owe you guys? Yeah, I figured I’d sit on it until I was asked a question that made me feel completely empty inside. So, you know…
BG: Basically, we’ve got a stoner and a deaf retiree trying to beat the shit out of each other in front of a bunch of unwashed foreigners. I know it sounds like the premise of a new Seth MacFarlane sitcom, but this is an actual UFC main card fight. Play us off, Morgan…
No one wants to be the guy who hated on Matt Hamill. But, well, here goes.
Hamill should have stayed retired. He should have quit while he was ahead. As it is, a tepid second run in the UFC so far holds more similarity to Michael Jordan’s time with the…
No one wants to be the guy who hated on Matt Hamill. But, well, here goes.
Hamill should have stayed retired. He should have quit while he was ahead. As it is, a tepid second run in the UFC so far holds more similarity to Michael Jordan’s time with the Washington Wizards than his post-baseball stint with the Bulls. Like MJ and his final, desperate swipes at relevance, Hamill has shown he is willing to sacrifice long-term integrity (and possibly health) for short-term glory. And like most trades of that ilk, it might leave the trader bankrupt.
This Wednesday at UFC Fight Night 29, Hamill faces fellow light heavyweight Thiago Silva, a knockout artist six years Hamill’s junior who is in desperate need of a win—an emphatic win would be ideal—if he wants to continue cashing UFC paychecks. No one believes that Hamill, who turned 37 last week, is anything but a substantial underdog in this fight.
But before we get to that, let me back up a second. Of course I want Matt Hamill to succeed. Everyone does. As a hearing-impaired fighter, Hamill blazed a path not only for fighters with disabilities but an entire population segment that has conceived, pursued or achieved big goals despite the inability to hear. Matt Hamill inspires people; they made a movie about his life, for Pete’s sake.
As such, Hamill is in an unusual position for an MMA fighter: He can make an impact far way away from the arena or the training gym, and even beyond the context of sport.
The thing that made this possible was Matt Hamill’s existence as more than just a trojan suit rolled into living rooms and pre-loaded with PR messaging. “The Hammer” won fights. In his prime, Hamill, a D-III national champion wrestler with heavy hands and a strong chin, bested the likes of Mark Munoz, Tim Boetsch, Keith Jardine and Tito Ortiz.
But like all fighters, he started to flag. In 2011, consecutive losses to Quinton Jackson and Alexander Gustafsson—the latter on a nasty TKO—sent Hamill into retirement. All well and good. Fans nodded their heads and stood to applaud Hamill, who rode out of town on a fully respectable 10-4 record.
But like the guy who has to slink back into the party after losing his keys, Hamill returned in 2012 to minimal fanfare and maximum awkwardness.
In his return bout at UFC 152, he ground out a decision over deer-in-the-headlights Roger Hollett. It was not impressive. Even so, Hamill could have headed back into the sunset then, for good and all, on a winning note and with a record of 11-4. He could have told everyone he wanted to leave with his hand raised, to savor the warmth of the spotlight one more time. He could have made that announcement in the cage to a thunderous ovation.
Instead, he went on to accept this fight with Silva, who most assuredly doesn’t care about his back story. Hamill also has said he wants more after this; we’ll see. Regardless, in a best-case scenario Hamill will have unretired for a few extra years under a dimming spotlight, with a dimming skill set and for a few extra thousand dollars.
But at what cost to his health and reputation? Why would he jeopardize any of the good things he has built over the years? Why trade in your dignity to cling by your fingernails to a sport that has clearly evolved beyond you? I simply don’t see how this decision stands up to any reasonable cost-benefit analysis.
Hamill said recently his return was about the thrill of competition. OK, great. But aren’t there other ways to satisfy that need without having to risk turning yourself into a punchline or a cautionary tale? They don’t have any bocce ball leagues in Ohio?
Hey, at the end of the day, I get that these are his dice to roll. Is it his right to do so? Of course it is. But does the fact that he has the right to do it make it right to do it? No.
Shouldn’t Matt Hamill value going out as a winner above all else? In so doing, he leaves no room for doubt or whispers that this whole Hamill thing maybe carried a slight whiff of novelty after all. That does a disservice to a lot more than Matt Hamill, because he fights with more than his own dignity on the line.
Maybe a bad ending won’t come against Silva (though I personally think it will). But if he is insistent that he wants to keep going, win or lose on Wednesday, he’s playing with a special kind of fire. A legacy already secure? Don’t make me laugh. No one’s legacy is secure until it’s in the books and final. Hamill deserves to write that last chapter with his own hand by going out on his own terms. He owes that much to himself and others.
UFC Fight Night 29 was an interesting event for many of the wrong reasons. 
