Matt Hamill replaces Thiago Silva, faces "Rampage" Jackson at UFC 130

With Thiago Silva's status in doubt, the UFC isn't taking any chances.

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has confirmed with sources close to the UFC that the promotion has pulled the Brazilian from a planned UFC 130 matchup with Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (31-8 MMA, 6-2 UFC), and Matt Hamill (10-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) has stepped in to fill the void.

Verbal agreements for the contest are in place, and bout agreements are expected to be finalized shortly.

Hamill had been expected to face Phil Davis at April's UFC 129 event. It's currently unknown if Davis will receive a new opponent for the card or be shifted to a later date.

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I don't really care for this fight, it just doesn't seem nearly as good as Thiago or Rashad. I wish the UFC would do something differently. I would rather see Davis take on Rampage over Matt. Don't get me wrong I like Hamill but this fight doesn't seem intriguing at all.

I thought Rampage was going to fight Evans again? I'd much rather see this match-up then the Rashad fight again even though it is an extremeley one-sided fight. But the Thiago and Rampage fight needs to happen some time because I was juiced to see it. Hopefully Silva is not in too much trouble.

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Posted by TeamDEY

I don't really care for this fight, it just doesn't seem nearly as good as Thiago or Rashad. I wish the UFC would do something differently. I would rather see Davis take on Rampage over Matt. Don't get me wrong I like Hamill but this fight doesn't seem intriguing at all.

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The Davis fight does sound a lot better than Hamill and potentially a lot more competitive.

I would have preferred him fight Rashad or Phil Davis. Not excited at all about this match up...

Good night Hamill.

I feel pretty bad for Hamill. The UFC must want his win "streak" to end pretty bad! First they give him Phil Davis and then pull him out of that to fight Rampage? I think Hamill can do it, but the again I am a huge fan. He has one of the greatest "overcoming adversity" stories I can think of. And he has all the heart in the world. A pretty good chin too!

I personally would love to see "The Hammer" take down Rampage and Ground and Pound his way to a TKO

Oh man, seriously Joe and Dana? This was the best you could do? Look, I love Hamill, but, uhh, yeah, I don't know that this is a winnable fight for him. He's awfully careless with his standup and I'm not sure he's faced a wrestler with the brute strength of Rampage.

I don't know, maybe they will sell me on this with a countdown or something, but I've lost interest in this particular fight.

FYI, Mods, you have the Browne-Struve fight listed twice on the UFC 130 picks. Just a heads up, I know it's not even close to being time, but I just noticed it so I thought I'd say something.

Poor Hamill

I didnt really want to see Rashad/Rampage 2 but cant say this fight is much better..you would think Rampage would get somebody a step above Machida

Hamill by UD.

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Posted by Chael_Sonnen

Hamill by UD.

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If Rampage isn't serious about training anymore, it could happen; but I see Rampage ending this fight with a brutal ko. Nighty Night Matt

This fight is way better than a pointless Rashad rematch. I ll probably pick Rampage, but I think your all sleepin on Hamill. If page takes him lightly, could be a long night for him.

I guess I'm in the minority for actually liking this fight. Matt is a grinder and could take the will out of Rampage especially if he sets up the takedowns with his heavy hands. If only he doesn't get cracked in the face.

They want Rampage to keep winning. That's the only reasoning I can see behind giving him Hamill to him instead of Davis. As far as the Light Heavyweight division is concerned, Phil Davis is labeled the next big thing after Jones and Bader, so they probably don't want to take the chance at him managing an upset over Rampage. I still think they are moving toward a rematch between Rampage and Shogun if he beats Jones, and if you look at Rampage vs. Hamill on paper, Rampage should dominate him.

BUT, this fight could go either way in my opinion, just like most of Rampage's fights. Mainly because we don't know which Rampage will show up. If Rampage is upset that he has to fight Hamill instead of Rashad, that could lead to a negative training camp for him on a mental level, and Rampage's mental level always affects his physical. When Rampage doesn't show up with his head in the game 100%, his chances of losing are 50/50.


With that being said, Hamill can also mess up any chance of a win. As we've all seen in the past, Hamill sometimes throws away all his wrestling capabilities and prefers to stand and use his medicore boxing. If he does this with Rampage, there is no doubt in my mind that he will go to sleep. If Hamill wants to win, he needs to concentrate on his wrestling offense. Put Rampage on his back, ground and pound him, if he gets up, rinse and repeat. If he's serious about winning, he should only use his boxing to set up takedowns.


I think this has the potiential to be a very exciting fight. I just don't like the way it ends for The Hammer.

Would rather see this than evans rematch
Could be for next title shot

Now I am curious to see what they do with phil davis??
Maybe bonner fighting him or bader

Does anyone else think Hamill might have a better chance against Rampage than he did against Davis? Stylistically I mean.

Yeah, I think he has a better chance against Rampage, he has a better chance of getting knocked out as well. I don't think he poses as much of a threat to Rampage as Rashad did, different style of wrestler and a different style of fighter. If Hamill is to win, he needs to clinch early and often and score the occasional takedown otherwise he's too slow and Rampage is going to find his target.

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Posted by sbulldavid

Yeah, I think he has a better chance against Rampage, he has a better chance of getting knocked out as well. I don't think he poses as much of a threat to Rampage as Rashad did, different style of wrestler and a different style of fighter. If Hamill is to win, he needs to clinch early and often and score the occasional takedown otherwise he's too slow and Rampage is going to find his target.

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What I'm thinking is that Davis is a really really good wrestler and has the ability to outwork Hammil all day, even though he's good at it too. Rampage really likes to strike and I think that gives Matt more opportunity to take him down and grind him out.

Hammil absolutely has a better chance against Rampage than Davis.

After the loss to Rashad, Rampage claimed he's once again serious about training. If he shows the kind of cardio and disciplined wrestling form that defended the LHW title against Hendo, I think he takes the fight. The fact that this question doesn't even exist in regards to Davis shows that it's a better fight for Hammil to take. Plus it's a bigger name with more exposure - even if I think Davis is a superior MMA talent to Rampage at this point.

On the off chance Hammil wins, I think it would be the biggest win he'd ever get. I don't see him beating a bigger name now or in the remainder of his career (which shouldn't be much longer, barring a crazy Dan Severn-style old man strength run in smaller organizations). That said, I think Rampage takes a tepid decision in the kind of unexciting matchmaking that timing and injury sometimes force.

IMO either this will be a brutal KO for Rampage or a fairly close decision victory for him, i just don't see Hamill having enough to edge out the W.

yawn

I think Hamill is gonna get knocked out.

The first Rashad Rampage fight was one of the most boring, pathetic excuse for a main event i have ever seen. I would pay a PPV price just to not have to watch that again!