Matt Hamill (born October 5, 1976) is an American former

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 ...

and

wrestler 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 diffe ...

who competed in the

Light Heavyweight Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight. The light heavyweight class has ...

division of the UFC. He is a three-time

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Division III National Champion in wrestling (167 lb class in 1997, 190 lb class in 1998 and 197 lb class in 1999) while attending the

Rochester Institute of Technology The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private university, private research university in Henrietta, New York, a suburb of Rochester, New York, Rochester. It was founded in 1829. It is one of only two institute of technology, institut ...

(RIT) in

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

Early life

Hamill has been

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

since birth. He was introduced to

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 ...

by his stepfather Michael Rich, who was the head wrestling coach at Loveland High School. Hamill attended the

for three years transferring there after a year at

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

Mixed martial arts career

''The Ultimate Fighter''

Hamill was on '' The Ultimate Fighter 3'' reality television show, training under former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion

Tito Ortiz Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz () is an American politican and retired mixed martial artist and Submission grappling, submission grappler. Ortiz is best known for his career with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC ...

in the 205 lb (93 kg) weight class. He won a preliminary fight against Mike Nickels via decision, but was unable to continue into the semi-finals due to injuries.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

On June 24, 2006, Hamill fought fellow contestant Jesse Forbes at The Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale on

Spike TV Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel and the flagship property of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, who operates it through the MTV Entertainment Group. The network's headquarters are locate ...

and won via

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, ...

. Hamill faced '' The Ultimate Fighter 2's'' Seth Petruzelli in a Fight of The Night performance he won via unanimous decision at '' Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter'' on October 10, 2006. Judges scored the bout (29–28, 30–27, and 29–28) for Hamill. Hamill then fought Rex Holman at '' UFC 68: The Uprising'' where he won by TKO in the first round. Hamill fought fellow TUF 3 alumnus

Michael Bisping Michael Gavin Joseph Bisping (; born 28 February 1979) is an English former mixed martial artist, sports commentator, analyst, and actor. He competed in the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship ( ...

UFC 75 ''UFC 75: Champion vs. Champion'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The event was held September 8, 2007, at The O2 in London, United Kingdom. Background The event was the fourth event held by the UFC in ...

in London, England on September 8, 2007, where he lost via split decision. The decision was considered controversial as many believed Hamill won the fight. A rematch was scheduled for UFC 78, but due to knee surgery, Hamill withdrew. A rematch since became unlikely because Bisping subsequently dropped down to the

Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...

division after losing a split decision to

Rashad Evans Rashad Evans (born September 25, 1979) is an American retired mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competed in the Light Heavyweight (MMA), Light Heavyweight division. Evans started his professional MMA career in 2003, and was the Heavyw ...

. Hamill next fought Tim Boetsch on April 3, 2008, whom he defeated in the second round by TKO, bringing his record to 4 wins and 1 loss. During the fight, Hamill had a badly split bottom lip due to a knee strike. Hamill then went on to fight at UFC 88 against former UFC Middleweight Champion

Rich Franklin Richard Jay Franklin II (born October 5, 1974) is an American businessman and retired mixed martial artist. He is best known for competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he is a member of the UFC Hall of Fame and a former UFC Midd ...

as the co-main event. He lost the fight by TKO after a kick to the liver at 0:39 of the third round. At UFC 92, Hamill defeated Reese Andy in the second round by TKO due to strikes. Hamill fought former

wrestling champion Mark Muñoz at UFC 96, defeating him with a right leg roundhouse kick to the head, knocking Munoz unconscious and earning him the Knockout of the Night award. His next fight was scheduled to be

Brandon Vera Brandon Michael Vera (born October 10, 1977), or also known by his ring name as The Truth, is a Filipino and American retired mixed martial artist where he was the inaugural ONE Heavyweight Champion and the 2005 WEC Heavyweight Grand Prix Champ ...

at UFC 102, but due to a knee injury while training, Hamill was replaced by Krzysztof Soszynski. MattHamill

Coming off of knee surgery, Hamill became sick. Hamill faced off against undefeated prospect

Jon Jones Jonathan Dwight Jones (born July 19, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight (MMA), Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the ...

on December 5, 2009, at The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Finale. Jones would be disqualified for using illegal 12–6 elbows. The

unified rules of mixed martial arts Most rule sets for mixed martial arts (MMA) competitions have evolved since the early days of Vale Tudo. As a result of health, legal, and moral concerns, many different rulesets were created, which give different countries and promotions very dif ...

prohibit downward elbow strikes, and Jones was initially only penalized a point from the round. However, because Hamill could not continue due to his dislocated shoulder, he was awarded the DQ win. Consequently, the tape was reviewed and showed that Jones' elbows further damaged Hamill's already bloody and lacerated nose. This marked the first time that Nevada has used its recently enacted instant replay rule, in which the referee's decision was supported by the commission which utilized a slow motion replay to review the elbows. Hamill contested the decision, stating after the fight that he "definitely didn't win" and Jones "definitely didn't lose". Hamill defeated

Keith Jardine Keith Jardine (born October 31, 1975) is an American actor and retired mixed martial artist who most notably competed in the UFC and Strikeforce. Background Jardine was born in Butte, Montana, moved to Oregon, and finally settled in Los Angele ...

on June 19, 2010, at The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz Finale. Hamill won this fight by majority decision. Jardine was docked a point for accidentally poking Hamill in the eye in round 2. Hamill next fought his former The Ultimate Fighter 3 coach,

on October 23, 2010, at UFC 121 which he won via unanimous decision. Hamill was next scheduled to face undefeated Phil Davis at UFC 129. It was then announced that Thiago Silva had failed his UFC 125 post fight drug test, and Hamill was named as his replacement in his bout against former UFC light heavyweight champion and current top contender

Quinton Jackson Quinton Ramone Jackson (born June 20, 1978), known by his ring name of Rampage Jackson, is an American rapper, former mixed martial artist, actor, kickboxer, and professional wrestler. During the course of his mixed martial arts (MMA) career, ...

. Hamill lost the fight via a one sided unanimous decision. At

UFC 133 ''UFC 133: Evans vs. Ortiz 2'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 6, 2011, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of mun ...

Hamill faced off against up and coming Swedish striker Alexander Gustafsson, replacing an injured Vladimir Matyushenko. After an uneventful first round, Gustafsson dropped Hamill in the second with a straight punch followed by an uppercut, subsequently finishing Hamill with punches and elbows from the mount. On August 8, 2011, Matt Hamill decided to step away from the UFC and MMA, as he lost his last two fights. "Today is a sad day for me. After six years and 13 fights in the UFC I'm ready to hang up my gloves and retire from this amazing sport," he said on his official website. Nearly a year later, however, Hamill decided to come out of retirement. Hamill was expected to face UFC newcomer Roger Hollett on September 22, 2012, at UFC 152. However, Hollett was forced out of the bout due to a contract dispute with Bellator and replaced by Vladimir Matyushenko. However, Matyushenko was forced out of the bout after suffering a torn Achilles tendon while training, and was replaced by Hollett, who had settled the issue in time. He won his return fight via unanimous decision (29–28, 30–27, and 30–27). Hamill faced Thiago Silva on October 9, 2013, at UFC Fight Night 29. Hamill lost the bout by unanimous decision and was subsequently released from the UFC.

World Series of Fighting

In May 2014 Hamill signed a deal with

World Series of Fighting The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promot ...

. He was expected to debut for the promotion later in 2014, however due to nagging injuries, Hamill would retire for the second time in his career. Hamill later decided to return to mixed martial arts and was scheduled to fight against Vinny Magalhães at WSOF 20 on April 10, 2015. However Magalhães was pulled from the bout after a contract dispute with Titan Fighting Championships. Hamill was expected to fight in a rematch against Thiago Silva at WSOF 19 on March 28, 2015, but was forced to withdraw from the competition after a sinus infection. Hamill eventually faced Magalhães at WSOF 24 held on October 17, 2015. He lost the fight via

submission Deference (also called submission or passivity) is the condition of submitting to the espoused, legitimate influence of one's superior or superiors. Deference implies a yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior, out of re ...

in the first round.

Independent promotions

After his stint in WSOF, Hamill began fighting for various independent promotions. Hamill faced

Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou Nkamhoua (; born April 18, 1984), mostly billed simply as Sokoudjou, is a Cameroonian professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2006, Sokoudjou is the former Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki, KSW Light He ...

on May 21, 2016, at Venator FC3: Palhares vs. Meek in Italy. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. Hamill next faced Julian Marquez on October 14, 2016, at

Combate Americas Combate Global (formerly known as Combate Americas) is an Hispanic America, Hispanic American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company founded in 2011 by current-CEO Campbell McLaren and based in New York City, New Yor ...

: Empire Rising. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round. Following a four-fight losing streak, Hamill earned his first win in over four years when he faced fellow UFC veteran Luiz Cané at Fight 2 Night 2 on April 28, 2017, in Brazil. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. Hamill then faced Chris Birchler at Maverick MMA 6, and won by split decision.

Personal life

Hamill is divorced and has a daughter from the marriage. Hamill and his longtime girlfriend Brittany Houck were engaged to be married in May 2008. Hamill is the subject of a 2010 movie entitled '' The Hammer'' about his early life and wrestling career. Originally set to star Eben Kostbar, it was criticized by the

deaf community Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

for featuring a non-deaf actor; however, Hamill himself supported the casting of Kostbar due to his wrestling experience and the fact that Kostbar is fluent in

American Sign Language American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that i ...

. However, Kostbar withdrew from starring, feeling it would be more appropriate for a deaf actor to take the role. Deaf actor Russell Harvard was chosen as the final choice to play Hamill. The movie was produced by Joseph McKelheer and Eben Kostbar and was directed by Oren Kaplan. On January 4, 2025 it was reported that Hamill got powerful hearing aids and is able to hear for the first time in 41 years.

Championships and Accomplishments

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

** Knockout of the Night (One time) vs. Mark Muñoz ** Fight of the Night (Two times) vs. Seth Petruzelli and

**UFC.com Awards ***2009: Ranked #3 Knockout of the Year

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 13–8 , Chris Birchler , Decision (split) , Maverick MMA 6 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, it is the List o ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–8 , Luiz Cané , KO (punches) , F2N: Fight2Night2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:38 ,

Foz do Iguaçu Foz do Iguaçu (; "Iguazu River mouth"), colloquially referred to as Foz, is the Brazilian city on the border of Iguaçu Falls. Foz in Portuguese language, Portuguese means the mouth or end of a river and Iguaçu in Guarani language, Guarani or Tup ...

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–8 , Julian Marquez , TKO (punches) ,

: Empire Rising , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:22 , Verona, New York, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–7 ,

, KO (punches) , Venator FC3: Palhares vs. Meek , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:37 ,

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, Italy , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–6 , Vinny Magalhães , Submission (kneebar) , WSOF 24 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:08 ,

Mashantucket, Connecticut Mashantucket is a census-designated place (CDP) in the northeastern part of the town of Ledyard, New London County, Connecticut, United States. It consists of land held by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe. The Foxwoods Resort Casino Foxwoods Re ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–5 , Thiago Silva , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Shields , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Barueri Barueri ( or ) is a Brazilian municipality in the State of São Paulo located in the northwestern part of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. The population is 276,982 (2020 est.) in an area of . Its boundaries are Santana de Parnaíba to ...

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 11–4 , Roger Hollett , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 152 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–4 , Alexander Gustafsson , TKO (punches and elbows) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:34 ,

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC 130 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

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, Decision (unanimous) , UFC 121 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

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Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

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, TKO (body kick) , UFC 88 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:39 ,

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

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Broomfield, Colorado Broomfield is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county located in the United States, U.S. Colorado, state of Colorado. It has a consolidated government which operates under Article XX, Sect ...

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References

External links

Matthew Hamill's Profile at Deaflympics

Matt "The Hammer" Hamill
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamill, Matt 1976 births Living people American disabled sportspeople American male mixed martial artists American male sport wrestlers American deaf people Deaf martial artists Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Greco-Roman wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing freestyle wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Mixed martial artists from Ohio American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Loveland, Ohio Purdue University alumni Rochester Institute of Technology alumni Sportspeople from the Cincinnati metropolitan area