MMAWeekly is reporting that the TUF 3 alum and 14-fight UFC veteran is currently in talks to face Brazilian slugger Thiago Silva at the tentatively-titled “Fight Night 29” card that goes down on October 9th. The only other fight currently booked for the card is Erick Silva vs. Dong Hyun Kim.
As much as we respect Hamill’s skills both inside the octagon and around the opposite sex, this matchup worries us, and not just because Brazilians are unstoppable killing machines when fighting in the motherland. Without getting into the age old debate of whether or not retirement should be up to the fighter and the fighter alone, can we all just agree that Hamill’s prime years in the spotlight have come and gone?
MMAWeekly is reporting that the TUF 3 alum and 14-fight UFC veteran is currently in talks to face Brazilian slugger Thiago Silva at the tentatively-titled “Fight Night 29″ card that goes down on October 9th. The only other fight currently booked for the card is Erick Silva vs. Dong Hyun Kim.
As much as we respect Hamill’s skills both inside the octagon and around the opposite sex, this matchup worries us, and not just because Brazilians are unstoppable killing machines when fighting in the motherland. Without getting into the age old debate of whether or not retirement should be up to the fighter and the fighter alone, can we all just agree that Hamill’s prime years in the spotlight have come and gone? He’s getting up there in age, he’s fighting in a division currently being cleaned out by the man who did this to him and he looked like a shadow of his former self against Hollett (who has since been fired, BTW). Could ring rust have been at least partially responsible for that last one? Sure, we’ll give him that, but that doesn’t change what we’ve come to know about his place in the current light heavyweight landscape.
Then again, maybe title glory isn’t what Hamill is trying to capture. Maybe the Gustafsson loss (and the Hollett win, for that matter) left a bad taste in his mouth and he’s just seeking a “good” win to go out on. Maybe he re-retires after the Silva fight whether he loses or wins. Only Hamill could tell us what he’s after, but doesn’t pairing him with Silva seem a little…soon?
Granted, Silva just managed to score his first win in 4 years and has seen so many ups and downs (mostly downs) lately that Hamill might come out the winner (or at least the NC not-loser) regardless of how he actually fares. One thing’s for sure; unless Hamill has made some tremendous improvements to his plodding stand up, he’s going to lose a lot of brain cells along the way.
Matt Hamill takes his second bout since coming out of retirement against Thiago Silva on October 9 in Brazil.
News of the bout broke on Knockout Radio on MMAWeekly.com on Wednesday evening.
Hamill was last seen inside the Octagon defeating Roger Hollet…
Matt Hamill takes his second bout since coming out of retirement against Thiago Silva on October 9 in Brazil.
Hamill was last seen inside the Octagon defeating Roger Hollett by unanimous decision. “The Hammer” will try to get on his first winning streak since winning five in a row between 2008 and 2010. The victory moved his professional record to 11-4.
Silva (15-3, 2 NC) made a successful return in June from a suspension for failing his post-fight drug test. The suspension was his second during his UFC tenure. Each Silva fight from now on will be placed under a magnifying glass until the post-fight testing results come out.
Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante was his opponent for UFC on Fuel TV: Werdum vs. Nogueira. The rivals threw down with Silva getting the last laugh at 4:29 of the first round. The fight earned him both Fight of the Night and Knockout of the Night bonuses.
Both light heavyweights have once been toward the top of the division, but neither have been able to break through to title contention. A win for either man puts them in position to rejoin the rankings and challenge a top-10 fighter in their next outing.
This is an important bout for both light heavyweights, and the rest of the division will keep an eye on the outcome.
The card will be aired on the new 24-hour sports channel Fox Sports 1 that is set to debut on August 17. This is only the second scheduled bout for the card, and there will be many more to be announced as the weeks go on.
For the second consecutive month, the UFC delivered just two events, but plenty happened in the last 30 days, and we have the full MMA stock report for the month of June.The first event, UFC on Fuel 10, featured 10 stoppages out of 12 fights, including…
For the second consecutive month, the UFC delivered just two events, but plenty happened in the last 30 days, and we have the full MMA stock report for the month of June.
The first event, UFC on Fuel 10, featured 10 stoppages out of 12 fights, including Thiago Silva’s knockout over Rafael Cavalcante and Fabricio Werdum‘s submission win over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
Then, the second event of the month, UFC 161, featured a stoppage drought as just two fights did not require the judges’ scorecards. Rashad Evans and Dan Henderson headlined the pay-per-view card, with the former taking home a split-decision win.
While the second event of the month was lackluster, there were still plenty of fighters to rise and fall during the last 30 days, while others simply watched their statuses remain unchanged.
A reconciliation between former American Top Team training partners Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and Thiago Silva isn’t happening anytime soon. Bigfoot, a recent UFC heavyweight title challenger, called out fringe light heavyweight contender Thiago Sil…
A reconciliation between former American Top Team training partners Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and Thiago Silva isn’t happening anytime soon.
I had so much respect and consideration for him at one time. Besides being a good training partner, I had him as a friend … I used to visit his house and he did mine, I was something of a brother to him and he simply stabbed me in the back and cheated me. He said I’m upset because he left ATT, but he knows its not because of that why I’m mad.
Shockingly, Bigfoot, a massive heavyweight who cuts to get down to the 265-pound weight limit, said he is considering meeting Thiago at 205 pounds to settle the score with him.
I thought he was a coward. Many fighters perform at different weight classes, for example Anderson Silva and Dan Henderson. I personally will attend the doctors to see if I am able to lose weight without spoiling my health. If can do it, I will drop weight to make this fight for sure … He’s mentally sick, we’re completely different people. I am a family guy – I respect my father, mother, wife, I treat my friends well, without pulling their legs, and I don’t take drugs.
Bigfoot has established himself as a threat in the UFC’s heavyweight division, but with losses to champ Cain Velasquez (twice) and top contenders Fabricio Werdum and Daniel Cormier, it’s tough to imagine him ever capturing the title.
Thiago finds himself in a similar situation at 205 pounds. He started his career 13-0 before struggling against elite fighters including LyotoMachida, Rashad Evans and Alexander Gustafsson.
He is just 1-2 (2) in his past five fights. Both no-contests were victories for Thiago before he failed post-fight drug tests.
Given the latest news, is there even a slim possibility that Antonio Silva and Thiago Silva could meet in a light heavyweight grudge match sooner than later?
JohnHeinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com and contributes MMA videos to The Young Turks Sports Show.
(“God, I could so go for an eclair right now-NO! FIGHT IT, BIGFOOT! PUNCH THE HUNGER AWAY.”)
We know, we know, not a goddamn word in that title makes sense.
Let’s run a hypothetical scenario by you: You’re a 6’4”, 285-pound, acromegalic UFC fighter. Your head is the size of a Ronco Showtime Rotisserie & BBQ and your fists were the models upon which Hulk Hands were molded. Being that you’re Brazilian, you also have an eternal blood feud with another UFC-employed fighter/camp that can be traced back to ancient blood drawings on the Pico da Neblina.
So your enemy of all enemies finally gets back from his most recent suspension and picks up an impressive win inside the octagon. You could use a nice win yourself, being that you were just knocked out by your division’s champion for the second time (in a year) in your last fight. However, the 70 pound weight advantage you hold over your foe all but rules that option out. Do you a) Needle the shit out of the guy until he agrees to fight you at a catchweight or b) Try and settle things on the streets — no gloves, no rules, ala Rocky V.
I personally will attend the doctors to see if I am able to lose weight without spoiling my health. If can do it, I will drop weight to make this fight for sure. All I want to do is just fight him because words won’t make him change.
(“God, I could so go for an eclair right now-NO! FIGHT IT, BIGFOOT! PUNCH THE HUNGER AWAY.”)
We know, we know, not a goddamn word in that title makes sense.
Let’s run a hypothetical scenario by you: You’re a 6’4”, 285-pound, acromegalic UFC fighter. Your head is the size of a Ronco Showtime Rotisserie & BBQ and your fists were the models upon which Hulk Hands were molded. Being that you’re Brazilian, you also have an eternal blood feud with another UFC-employed fighter/camp that can be traced back to ancient blood drawings on the Pico da Neblina.
So your enemy of all enemies finally gets back from his most recent suspension and picks up an impressive win inside the octagon. You could use a nice win yourself, being that you were just knocked out by your division’s champion for the second time (in a year) in your last fight. However, the 70 pound weight advantage you hold over your foe all but rules that option out. Do you a) Needle the shit out of the guy until he agrees to fight you at a catchweight or b) Try and settle things on the streets — no gloves, no rules, ala Rocky V.
I personally will attend the doctors to see if I am able to lose weight without spoiling my health. If can do it, I will drop weight to make this fight for sure. All I want to do is just fight him because words won’t make him change.
And why exactly does Bigfoot want a piece of Thiago Silva so bad he can taste it (and it tastes a lot like rice cakes)? The answer is simple: Thiago Silva broke his heart.
I had so much respect and consideration for him at one time. Besides being a good training partner, I had him as a friend. When he had a problem at ATT, I was the only one who was on his side until the end.
I used to visit his house and he did mine, I was something of a brother to him and he simply stabbed me in the back and cheated me. He said I’m upset because he left ATT, but he knows its not because of that why I’m mad.
He’s mentally sick, we’re completely different people. I am a family guy. I respect my father, mother, wife, I treat my friends well, without pulling their legs, and I don’t take drugs.
How is Silva taking all this, you ask? Like a true gamesman, he combined a little bit of option A and B.
Tell that big fool to come over here then we will see what’s what. For me it’s OK but, he talks a lot that guy, he is stupid. I don’t like him at all. Anytime he wants, man, especially if its for money! We can even do it for free, let’s go.
I would fight him whenever he wants. I trained with Bigfoot for three years. Ask him what he ever did to me. He was beaten like a little dog.
If you’re one of the multitudes who doesn’t have FUEL in their cable package — or if you simply had no idea that there was a UFC event going on this weekend — you’ll want to check out this FOX Sports recap of UFC on FUEL 10: Nogueira vs. Werdum, in which Chael Sonnen, Brian Stann, and Jay Glazer take us through four of the fights on the main card, none of which made it out of the second round. Some notes…
– Even in the replay, it’s still not entirely clear where or how Big Nog tapped. But he did, and Anderson Silva has a sad.
– “Seeing Werdum do what Werdum does” is a hell of a tongue-twister, and Brian Stann almost pulls it off.
– We’re still doing that thing where we call the black guy “the explosive athlete”? Really?
– Note to self: When you’re fighting Thiago Silva, the worst thing to do is drop your hands and just stand there.
– It’s not shown in this video, but Rony Jason has the best Rony Jason tattoo on earth.
If you’re one of the multitudes who doesn’t have FUEL in their cable package — or if you simply had no idea that there was a UFC event going on this weekend — you’ll want to check out this FOX Sports recap of UFC on FUEL 10: Nogueira vs. Werdum, in which Chael Sonnen, Brian Stann, and Jay Glazer take us through four of the fights on the main card, none of which made it out of the second round. Some notes…
– Even in the replay, it’s still not entirely clear where or how Big Nog tapped. But he did, and Anderson Silva has a sad.
– “Seeing Werdum do what Werdum does” is a hell of a tongue-twister, and Brian Stann almost pulls it off.
– We’re still doing that thing where we call the black guy “the explosive athlete”? Really?
– Note to self: When you’re fighting Thiago Silva, the worst thing to do is drop your hands and just stand there.
– It’s not shown in this video, but Rony Jason has the best Rony Jason tattoo on earth.
Matt Hamill takes his second bout since coming out of retirement against 
