Anthony Hamilton (born April 14, 1980) is an American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who most recently competed in the

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

division. A professional competitor since 2010, Hamilton has also formerly competed for the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

, MFC, and was the MFC inaugural

Heavyweight Champion At boxing's beginning, the heavyweight division had no weight limit, and historically the weight class has gone with vague or no definition. During the 19th century many heavyweights were 170 pounds (12 st 2 lb, 77 kg) or less, tho ...

Background

Originally from

Kent, Washington Kent is a city in King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. It is part of the Seattle metropolitan area, Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue metropolitan area and had a population of 136,588 as of the 2020 Unit ...

, Hamilton competed in

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

and football growing up, graduating from Kentwood High School, then attending Highline College, where he earned NJCAA All-American honors in wrestling. He later attended

Central Washington University Central Washington University (CWU) is a public university in Ellensburg, Washington, United States. Founded in 1891, the university consists of four divisions: the President's Division, Business and Financial Affairs, Operations, and Academi ...

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Hamilton went undefeated during his amateur career (4–0) before turning professional in October 2010. Prior to signing with the UFC, Hamilton competed for the

Maximum Fighting Championship Maximum Fighting Championship was a Canadian mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in Edmonton, Alberta. MFC events were broadcast on The Fight Network, AXS TV (formerly HDnet) in North America and most recently TSN2. FC’s former home, in C ...

, claiming their inaugural heavyweight championship after defeating Smealinho Rama at MFC 38: Behind Enemy Lines on October 4, 2013. He defended the title once by defeating '' Ultimate Fighter 10'' contestant Darrill Schoonover at MFC 39: No Remorse on January 17, 2014. Hamilton signed with the UFC in early 2014.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In his promotional debut, Hamilton faced Alexey Oleynik at UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Stephens. He lost the fight via neck crank submission in the first round. In his second appearance, Hamilton faced Ruan Potts at UFC 177 on August 30, 2014. He won the fight via TKO in the second round. Hamilton next faced Todd Duffee at

UFC 181 ''UFC 181: Hendricks vs. Lawler II'' was a mixed martial arts event held on December 6, 2014, at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas, Nevada. Background UFC 181 was the organization's 300th event and was expected to be headl ...

on December 6, 2014. He lost the fight via KO in the first round. Hamilton faced

Daniel Omielańczuk Daniel Omielańczuk (born August 31, 1982) is a Polish professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and kickboxer currently competing in the Heavyweight (MMA), heavyweight division of Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW). A professional MMA c ...

on April 11, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 64. Hamilton won the fight by unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, and 29–27). Hamilton was expected to face Derrick Lewis on October 3, 2015, at UFC 192. However, Hamilton was pulled from the fight and replaced by Viktor Pešta. In turn, Hamilton was rescheduled to face

Mirko Cro Cop Mirko Filipović (; born 10 September 1974), better known by his ring name Mirko Cro Cop, is a Croatian former professional mixed martial artist, kickboxer and amateur boxer. He is mostly known for his time in Pride Fighting Championships. Cro ...

on November 28, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 79. However, on November 10, it was announced that Filipović had pulled out of the fight and abruptly announced his retirement. Subsequently, UFC officials removed Hamilton from the card and announced that he would be rescheduled for another event. Hamilton faced Shamil Abdurakhimov on February 21, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 83. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Hamilton faced

Damian Grabowski Damian Grabowski (born May 12, 1980) is a Polish professional mixed martial artist who last competed in 2019. A professional since 2007, he has fought in the UFC, Bellator, Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW), Fight Exclusive Night and M-1 Global. ...

on July 30, 2016, at

UFC 201 ''UFC 201: Lawler vs. Woodley'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 30, 2016, at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Background This was the third event that the organization has hosted in Atl ...

. He won the fight via knockout just 14 seconds into the first round. Hamilton faced

Francis Ngannou Francis Zavier Ngannou (born 5 September 1986) is a Cameroonian and French professional mixed martial artist and professional boxer who currently competes in the Heavyweight division of the Professional Fighters League (PFL), where he is the in ...

on December 9, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 102. He lost the fight via submission in the first round. Hamilton faced promotional newcomer Marcel Fortuna on February 4, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 104. He lost the fight by knockout in the first round. Hamilton faced Daniel Spitz on September 16, 2017, at UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Branch. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round in 24 seconds. Hamilton announced his retirement from professional MMA fighting on his social network after his loss to Splitz on September 16, 2017, at UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Branch. Shortly after his announced from retirement, he was called to replace Dmitrii Smolyakov to face promotional newcomer Adam Wieczorek on October 21, 2017, at UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Till. However, the bout was scratched a day before the event due to "safety concerns," as a few

Lechia Gdańsk Lechia Gdańsk () is a Polish football (soccer), football club based in Gdańsk. As of the 2025–26 Ekstraklasa, 2025–26 season, they compete in the Ekstraklasa. The club was founded in 1945 by people Polish population transfers (1944–1946 ...

ultras Ultras are a type of association football fans who are known for their fanatical support. The term originated in Italy, but is used worldwide to describe predominantly organised fans of association football teams. The behavioural tendency ...

– extreme and sometimes violent supporters of the local football team – showed up just prior to the weigh-ins. Wieczorek is a supporter of

Ruch Chorzów Ruch Chorzów () is a Polish professional association football, football club based in Chorzów, Upper Silesia. It is one of the most successful football teams in Poland, having won fourteen List of Polish football champions, Polish Championship ...

, a Lechia Gdańsk rival team. The fighters were absent from ceremonial weigh-ins due to that reason, but the bout was eventually canceled and rescheduled for UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura a month later. Hamilton lost the bout by unanimous decision.

Post-UFC

After four consecutive losses, Hamilton was released from the UFC. In 2018, Hamilton returned to the regional circuit, and is 3-1 since his departure from the Las Vegas-based promotion. Hamilton faced Rizvan Kuniev for the EFC Heavyweight Championship at Eagle FC 46 on March 11, 2022. After getting hit in the body by knees, Hamilton soon after lost the bout due to guillotine choke in the first round.

Championships and accomplishments

* UFC ** Fourth-fastest KO in the Heavyweight division (14 seconds) *

** MFC Heavyweight Championship (One time) ** One Successful Championship Defense * CageSport ** CS Heavyweight Championship (One time) ** One Successful Championship Defense

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 22–12 , Jared Torgeson , TKO (punches) , WFC 175 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:39 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 16–9 , Randy Zarza , Submission (rear-naked choke) , COGA Combat Sports: Rumble on the Ridge 41 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:49 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–9 , Adam Wieczorek , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–8 , Daniel Spitz , TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Branch , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:24 ,

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, Submission (kimura) , UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Abdurakhimov , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:57 ,

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, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Gonzaga vs. Cro Cop 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–3 , Alexey Oleynik , Submission (scarf-hold headlock) , UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Stephens , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:18 ,

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, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 , Smealinho Rama , KO (head kick) , Maximum FC 38 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:12 ,

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 , Matt Kovacs , TKO (punches) , CageSport 26 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:14 ,

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Fabiano Scherner Fabiano Scherner (born June 30, 1972) is a Brazilian former professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu ranking system#Black belt, black belt. He has fought in Cage Rage, International Fig ...

, Submission (arm-triangle choke) , SportFight: Battle of the Bay 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:02 , Manson, Washington, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–1 , Walt Harris , KO (punches) , Superior Cage Combat 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:15 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Rath Cyrus , Decision (unanimous) , COGA Combat Sports: Rumble on the Ridge 20 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Josh Bennett , TKO (punches) , COGA Combat Sports: Rumble on the Ridge 19 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:33 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Jesus Rodriguez , Decision (unanimous) , COGA Combat Sports: Rumble on the Ridge 18 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Jared Torgeson , Decision (unanimous) , CageSport 13 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Kyle Welch , Decision (unanimous) , CageSport 12 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Anthony Living people 1980 births American male mixed martial artists Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Mixed martial artists from Washington (state) Sportspeople from Kent, Washington Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu American male sport wrestlers Amateur wrestlers Highline College alumni