UFC 133 Results: UFC's Matt Hamill Reportedly Says He Will Retire

Matt Hamill was brutalized in the second round of his fight with Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 133. Following the TKO loss it looks like Hamill will be retiring from the sport of mixed martial arts. Hamill lost his last two fights, in addition to the Gustafsson loss he dropped a decision to Quinton Jackson at UFC 130.

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Matt has been one of my favorite fighters since I saw him on TUF 3. He is the unofficial winner of that season in my book, as well as the unofficial winner of his fight with Bisping.

His story is one that makes it hard not to root for him. A deaf man overcoming adversity in all aspects of life, going on to compete in some of the highest level athletic competition in the world. I had very high hopes for Hamill.

Having said that, he steps away with an 8-4 UFC record, which is very respectable in my book. Trade the win over Jones that should have been a loss with the loss over Bisping that should have been a win, and he's still 8-4

He had a devestating highlight reel KO over Mark Munoz that sent the Filipino wrecking machine to Middleweight. He constantly inspired people inside and outside the Octagon. I hope Matt "The Hammer" Hamill finds great success in life, and especially if he decides to return to the UFC.

I feel for him, i was never a Matt Hamill fan at all... but i respect the guy so much for what he has done to get where he is in this sport. Unfortunately for him, i really don't see him getting better at all, his striking has always been sluggish, and it actually seems like his grappling as gotten much worse.

He just isn't evolving... It's a shame that he's retiring, though.

Never been a big fan, not too sad to see him leave. Good luck to him in his future life.

Hammil is a good fighter and a great person. He knows hes never going to make it to the top so he is stepping down. Smart move in my opinion. Ive always liked Matt Hammil, even when i was going for his opponent sometimes. I have much respect for the guy for puttin a wooping on bisping even though he got robbed. A true role model of the sport i wish matt hammill the best.

I wish him luck, good person who overcame a lot. Always seemed a little slow in his fights. But he's a gamer at heart, and I admire him for that

He will go down as one of the only people to beat Jones when its all said and done.......

I'll never forget that moment Jones left a deaf man bleeding out of his eyes leaving him blind.

Nonetheless, Matt Hamill was a hell of a fighter. If he uses his wresting in an organisation such as BAMMA or DREAM he'd take a title easy and be a very good opponent for all challengers, but retiring in the UFC is one heck of a way to leave. Smart man.

My favorite Hamill moment was the loss to Bisping. I felt like he won the fight, that he controlled the cage and landed more significant shots while blocking pretty much everything Bisping threw. He also chose to rely on his hands as opposed to his wrestling, looking great in the process.

He was aggressive, he was effective, he was robbed (I think so, anyway) and he was magnanimous after the fact.

Second favorite moment would be sending Mark Munoz to middleweight with a head kick.

He's a good guy and a hell of a story, but it might just be his time. No shame in that.

With the hand he was dealt he has achieved so much
I wish him luck!! Glad I saw him fight four times live in the ufc

Me and a friend of mine were discussing this after the Rampage fight. Hamill just looked like his head wasn't in it, and he just wanted to get it over with. Same with Saturday night. It's like he lost his will to fight. I'll miss the guy. I feel connected to him somehow, as if I was there with him through all the struggles he's had as a mixed martial artist. He's one of the few fighters that I've actually NEVER rooted against, even against guys like Franklin and Rampage.

Thanks for the entertainment, Matt. You were an inspiration to a lot of us.

His story is a one in a million. To have the drive to tarin MMA professionaly would be a bear in its self. But to do it without being able to hear????? Thats amazing. Glad to see he is leaving on his terms anyways. He is young maybe he'll take a break and kcome back at it. I wonder if he could be a wrestling coach at the pro level?

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Posted by BustedKnuckle

I wonder if he could be a wrestling coach at the pro level?

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The Warrior says YES!

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Posted by FastKnockout

Me and a friend of mine were discussing this after the Rampage fight. Hamill just looked like his head wasn't in it, and he just wanted to get it over with. Same with Saturday night. It's like he lost his will to fight. I'll miss the guy. I feel connected to him somehow, as if I was there with him through all the struggles he's had as a mixed martial artist. He's one of the few fighters that I've actually NEVER rooted against, even against guys like Franklin and Rampage.

Thanks for the entertainment, Matt. You were an inspiration to a lot of us.

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I've gotta spread the love but well said man. I've always been a sucker for Hamill's story.

I'm sure this won't be a popular opinion.

I don't feel like deafness is such a huge obstacle to overcome, especially if you've been deaf since birth and you work in the field of athletics. I'm sure it presents challenges in day to day life, but I'm also sure that when you've read lips for your whole life it becomes a completely natural form of communication that you don't think twice about. People may argue that he can't hear his corner during fights, but I would say that most fighters probably can't hear their corner in a packed arena for most of the fight, and that the purpose of practicing for 3 months leading up to a single fight is so that you know what to do in any given situation ahead of time and you don't need someone to tell you what to do as it is happening, you just react.

Don't get me wrong, Hamill is an incredibly impressive athlete and has accomplished amazing things, I just don't hold him to a lower standard than anyone else. I think his accomplishments are impressive for a person, not "impressive for/because of his deafness" or that being deaf makes what he did inspirational or more impressive than if someone else were to do it. I actually think that it's sort of condescending and implies that people with disabilities shouldn't be able to accomplish anything spectacular.

Just my opinion. I'm sure it won't be popular lol.

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Posted by Aether

I'm sure this won't be a popular opinion.

I don't feel like deafness is such a huge obstacle to overcome, especially if you've been deaf since birth and you work in the field of athletics. I'm sure it presents challenges in day to day life, but I'm also sure that when you've read lips for your whole life it becomes a completely natural form of communication that you don't think twice about. People may argue that he can't hear his corner during fights, but I would say that most fighters probably can't hear their corner in a packed arena for most of the fight, and that the purpose of practicing for 3 months leading up to a single fight is so that you know what to do in any given situation ahead of time and you don't need someone to tell you what to do as it is happening, you just react.

Don't get me wrong, Hamill is an incredibly impressive athlete and has accomplished amazing things, I just don't hold him to a lower standard than anyone else. I think his accomplishments are impressive for a person, not "impressive for/because of his deafness" or that being deaf makes what he did inspirational or more impressive than if someone else were to do it. I actually think that it's sort of condescending and implies that people with disabilities shouldn't be able to accomplish anything spectacular.

Just my opinion. I'm sure it won't be popular lol.

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I think I get what you're saying, Aether. I don't think anyone is trying to highlight him and say, " Look at what this deaf person did", but rather "Look at what this person did".

Everything in life is relative. Everyone has struggles in life that are different, but in my opinion equally great. Everyone has something to overcome or adapt to. Matt had to adapt to deafness.

For him, that's his life. Being unable to hear is normal. I've heard, as I am sure many of you have, that some people who lack one sense, have others that are heightened. How accurate that really is, I don't know. But when I first saw Matt on TUF 3, I thought of that and said, "if that's true, he could have an advantage in the cage".

I think retiring with an Octagon record of 8-4 is impressive for anybody. I believe Matt Hamill had a longer win streak at 5 than Randy Couture had in his whole career. To me, that is impressive for anyone, regardless of their background or physical condition.

good person, but was never overly impressed with his skills...never would have been a champ imo...always seemd too slow and not crisp

reading that blurb from the original article kinda pissed me off with its ignorance.

anywho good luck to Matt in his future endeavors. i wasnt really a fan of the guy but he never fought boring....and he almost choked out my buddy in a bar in Montreal during a picture obviously he was hammered (no pun intended)

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Posted by Aether

I'm sure this won't be a popular opinion.

I don't feel like deafness is such a huge obstacle to overcome, especially if you've been deaf since birth and you work in the field of athletics. I'm sure it presents challenges in day to day life, but I'm also sure that when you've read lips for your whole life it becomes a completely natural form of communication that you don't think twice about. People may argue that he can't hear his corner during fights, but I would say that most fighters probably can't hear their corner in a packed arena for most of the fight, and that the purpose of practicing for 3 months leading up to a single fight is so that you know what to do in any given situation ahead of time and you don't need someone to tell you what to do as it is happening, you just react.

Don't get me wrong, Hamill is an incredibly impressive athlete and has accomplished amazing things, I just don't hold him to a lower standard than anyone else. I think his accomplishments are impressive for a person, not "impressive for/because of his deafness" or that being deaf makes what he did inspirational or more impressive than if someone else were to do it. I actually think that it's sort of condescending and implies that people with disabilities shouldn't be able to accomplish anything spectacular.

Just my opinion. I'm sure it won't be popular lol.

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Not having communications skills can be a real obstacle. No verbal motivation during those tough wrestling matches, and a wisdom with having to mak all the decisions yourself.

Even a tiny obstacle is huge in an elite game like high level wrestling and MMA

Deafness is not an obstacle....if all your training partners and everything around you is adapted to you...Training for a professional sport is not. MMA also isn't being a solitary sport like running. You need to work with a variety of people to sharpen a variety of skills.He had a camp that was adapted to him but his Deafness possibly prevented him from bringing in other fighters or going to other camps because the communication and sensory issues.

Look during the Rampage fight when they were working on his cut and they were trying to change up the game plan...he couldn't read the lips of his cornerman. Statistics say that the average person will have 30% accuracy while lip reading. And the best lip readers in the world aren't deaf people but hearing people with a large vocabulary. Most deaf do not know what they are missing so they think they are getting the message and aren't.

I am Sign Language Interpreter and have worked with the Deaf at the high school level and can say first hand that even with an interpreter who is knowledgeable with the language and the sport still puts the athlete at a disadvantage. It is the same when I have played sports and stuff when I am with my Deaf friends and I am the only hearing guy...I am at a disadvantage even though I am fluent in Sign Language. I am in their world playing under their rules.


I respect you for not baby-ing him or making him less of a man with your opinion and while I do not know Matt personally we do have quite a few mutual friends and I bet he too would respect your opinion too.

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Posted by Aether

I'm sure this won't be a popular opinion.

I don't feel like deafness is such a huge obstacle to overcome, especially if you've been deaf since birth and you work in the field of athletics. I'm sure it presents challenges in day to day life, but I'm also sure that when you've read lips for your whole life it becomes a completely natural form of communication that you don't think twice about. People may argue that he can't hear his corner during fights, but I would say that most fighters probably can't hear their corner in a packed arena for most of the fight, and that the purpose of practicing for 3 months leading up to a single fight is so that you know what to do in any given situation ahead of time and you don't need someone to tell you what to do as it is happening, you just react.

Don't get me wrong, Hamill is an incredibly impressive athlete and has accomplished amazing things, I just don't hold him to a lower standard than anyone else. I think his accomplishments are impressive for a person, not "impressive for/because of his deafness" or that being deaf makes what he did inspirational or more impressive than if someone else were to do it. I actually think that it's sort of condescending and implies that people with disabilities shouldn't be able to accomplish anything spectacular.

Just my opinion. I'm sure it won't be popular lol.

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Much props to the man who acted like a class act, even though he won that fight with bisping and the count still acted like a tool.

Its a different era out there nowadays and the kids of mma are soon gonna get rid of all the guys we come to love and know.

Hang on sloopy!

Why doesn't someone mention in a post about how he was robbed against Bisping That's one thing I won't miss when he is gone.

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Posted by jjeans

I'll never forget that moment Jones left a deaf man bleeding out of his eyes leaving him blind.

Nonetheless, Matt Hamill was a hell of a fighter. If he uses his wresting in an organisation such as BAMMA or DREAM he'd take a title easy and be a very good opponent for all challengers, but retiring in the UFC is one heck of a way to leave. Smart man.

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Depends what weight class. I don't think he would take the title easily from Kong Watson.