Matt Hamill vs. Brandon Vera On Tap For UFC 101
Matt Hamill
Light heavyweights Matt Hamill and Brandon Vera are likely to clash on the main card of UFC 101 on August 8th in Philadelphia, according to MMA Madness.
According to the report, which cited sources close to the event, both fighters have received contracts for the bout and are expected to sign on to make the fight official.
Hamill (6-2) and Vera (10-3) were last in action at UFC 96 earlier this month, with Hamill earning “Knockout of the Night” for his first-round head kick KO of Mark Munoz while Vera picked up a second-round TKO of Mike Patt on the preliminary card due to leg kicks.
UFC 101, which will air live on pay-per-view, will take place at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia and is expected to feature UFC lightweight champion BJ Penn vs. Kenny Florian and Forrest Griffin vs. Thiago Silva.
For the latest UFC 101 rumors check out the MMAFrenzy.com UFC rumors section.
Tags: Brandon Vera, Matt Hamill
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wow great match up, I think vera could give matt some problems his strikes are fast and accurate plus he utilises his legs well, like franklin and we all remember what happened in that fight. Vera TKO round 2
no way!!! haha hamill is way better! he striking gets better and better no way in hell vera takes down hamill!!!! ground and POUND! tko! 2nd rd 3rd minute! matt the hammer hamill
Great match up indeed. I’ve always been a Hamil fan, but Vera’s caught my attention lately and unfortunately Hamill will be beaten. Despite his loss to Jardine, he’s going to be trouble for many contenders. He’s a huge LHW. His reach combined with his muay thai will keep most fighter frustrated and hurt. Add his wrestling and BJJ, and well you’re going to have yourself a contender soon. His Jardine fight was a wake up call and I see him going undefeated until he faces whomever the LHW champ is in a year. Besides, Vera needs to get some revenge for his fallen Filipino comrade.
I agree with you totally. I do think Hamill has the power to give Vera a huge porblem, but I think he can outwork him.
However, when it comes to the Jardine fight, I didn’t watch it live but had is taped to watch the next dsy. I still feel Vera won the fight. (Was this pointless to say? Sorry, as for the first time I am posting on this site absolutely wasted.) I’ll do my best to edit the typo’s, but I think a sober Justin will be quick to point anything out. (Sober Justin? Do i know you any other way?)
Hahaha nicely done my friend, cheers to you literally…
Way to call Justin out.
You actually did alright for being blitzed when you typed that up.
But seriously, you don’t need to announce to everyone when you’re wasted, either you’ll do well enough to hide that fact, or we’ll figure it out.
As far as “sober Justin” goes… no, you don’t know me any other way.
Sorry dude, I think the fact that I stated I was blitzed was a true testiment to how drunk I was. Good testiment that the something stupid I did while drinking was just internet babble. Beats driving.
Well, I’ll definitely take people drunk frenzying over drunk driving any day.
well either matt will keep his hands up.. or get knocked out.. Damn I like Matt guess we will have to keep seing Vera around.. Cant stand Vera…
Agreed jdubb. Veras horrific celebratory dance(?) will be seen when he tkos hamil-as muc as i like hamil. If chuck beats rua, id like to see the iceman vs. Vera later on this year
Obviously a match up to confirm the number 1 contend . . . . . Ahem, sorry, the number 1 gatekeeper in the LH division
Guys don’t you think to avoid the Thai leg kicks that Vera undoubtably will bring to the fight, Hamill will take Vera down (at will) plus Hamill is becoming better with each fight…
Let’s look at this objectively for a minute and compare things, like who has the better takedowns,chin,heart,kicks, striking with the hands,stamina,these sort of things are key to the victor..
Now mind you, I doubt there are many thay dislike Hamill (I for one enjoy the hell out of him) but Vera is a really tough competitor and will bring the fight to Hamill… Then again I think Hamill Cro Cop~ing the hell out of Munoz was waaayyyy more impressive than Vera chopping down Pratt (honestly he no chance against Vera and we all know it)
I agree that I want Hamill to win, but it will be really difficult to beat Vera at this stage of his career, but I think that the ground game is key for Hamill if he does win, I just don’t think it is impossible for him to beat Vera, he I obtaining the skills each and everyday.. Hamill kinda has only one REAL loss (imo) and that was to Franklin who I believe would walk through Vera rightnow
If Hamill takes it to the ground he will be setting himself up for a submission loss. Remember Vera is no joke on the ground either.
hamill is way too strong!~
Way too strong for what? A triangle. Please
wow! another filipino going against hammill! but this time, the ending is gonna be different. hammill is the one getting put away in this one. sweet revenge for mark munoz….
Interesting match up, should be a great fight.
Hammil likes to continously press forward, and has sick wrestling ability.
But if he does not use good head movement with Vera standing in front of him it will be a short fight.
Although Vera Striking is good he tends to fight in spurts and if Hammil wants to take this to the ground he can and will at will.
Vera seems more focused in his last fight than his other lhw fights, so maybe he is back to the old self, imo he needs to use a lot of leg kicks and M.T. clinch work followed by tons of knees, or he is gonna loss a UD to hammil due to being stuck on his back and not being able to get up.
Should be a great fight.
Ohh I forgot to add if you look at it we all wrote Hammil of against Bisbing but he fought his heart out and Heyyyy he shoulda coulda sorta did win that fight. And Vera’s stand up defense is suspect!! Very suspect, so hammil has a chance but I hope Vera wins!
I love his style and personality and I hope he fights Chuck liddel like he wished for as a HW…
now this is a fight i’d love to see! vera needs to come in ready, but i think his strikes are too accurate and fast for hamill. hope this is signed…
hopefully after matt beats him he’ll finally get released…
this is a good matchup, I guess there is kind of a tournament going on at 205. there are so many great fighters there, but neither vera or hamill have what it takes to beat rashad, rampage, machida, or jardine. I like matt, I like how he overcame his deafness to become a great fighter, he has a bright future ahead of him. that being said, I think vera will beat him by decision. but this is the ufc and anything can happen. I see the winner of this getting the loser of forrest and thiago silva, or maybe jardine next.
I think this is a good match-up and either fighter can win it. (I know this has all been said already but…) Matt has improved a lot and is continuing to do so, while Vera seems to have regained his focus. Matt has the wrestling advantage, but I think Vera has the stand up advantage in terms of technical ability, Matt maybe in power. I think Matt potentially has more ways to win this fight, and he would do himself a great favor to use his wrestling abilities and get some take downs and ground n pound. The problem with that is, will he actually look to use that? It seems to me that he has fallen into the trap that many have in the UFC of late in that he seems to want to stand up to “be exciting” rather than use his best skill set in a manner that would give him an increased chance of victory.
I agree with Justin that Hammil might be one to fall into that trap of trying to “be exciting”. I think there could definitely be the possibility of Hammil coming into this fight overconfident with his stand up after his bout with Munoz, resulting in Vera outscoring him on the feet the first two rounds, before Hammil finally decides in the third to take it to the ground…by then too late, Vera UD.
I can hear Joe Rogan saying “why isn’t Hamill taking Vera to the ground…” Hamill like to press, and he stays on his feet, almost like he’s trying to prove he’s not just a wrestler…he’d better watch out for Vera’s striking.
Dude good match. I like both guys so i can’t choose a winner. this one could go either way i think.
Matt Hamill vs. Brandon Vera is a awesome fight. It sucks that one guy has to lose ’cause i like both guys. Hamill can win if he’s able to take Vera down and control him there, but without a doubt Vera has the advantage in the stand-up. Vera needs use leg kicks and try to clinch with Hamill so he can use his knees, but Hamill is a strong dude with a big heart so thus is a hard one to call. I’m going with Vera in the 3rd via ko or tko
I’m thinking Vera’s striking is going to be to much for “The Hammer”. His leg strikes he demonstrated in his last fight were sick, I almost felt sorry for the guy. Also as stated, Vera’s ground game is not to bad so if it does indeed go the the ground Hamill will have a fight there as well.
Vera 2nd Rd stoppage.
I Like Hamill and think either one of these guys could win but I really see this fight going like hamill/franklin and vera avoiding the takedown and dominating the standup…….this is a great matchup to and like i said earlier it could go either way but i see vera using th eleg kicks again and winning via tko rnd 2 or 3
The winner of this fight should fight the winner of Chuck-Shogun.
My prediction is going to be Vera by TKO R3
I think Matt Hamill is still a huge problem for a LOT of fighters, but I have yet to see him in a fight where his conditioning was not in question. on the reverse side Vera does not seem to tire easily in his fights. So I give the conditioning to Vera
Striking has GOT to go to Vera who is going to be the taller, longer fighter with just huge credentials over Hamill in that department. Matt still can’t manage to keep his hands up preferring to hold them near his waist! Yes his boxing is better, Yes he is improved but when he has fought someone with good striking like Franklin he got completely out classed.
Wrestling and power I give to Hamill for sure, but both of those will only take him into the later rounds. I don’t see him pulling off another KO victory and Vera is good enough on the ground to nullify most of Hamill’s damage (I don’t want to go so far as to say Vera is extremely dangerous on the ground simply because we have no evidence of that. He did Submit Ausserio Silva, but got mounted fairly easily by Werdum. Just not enough Vera on the ground to see how great he is there).
All in all I see Vera outlasting Hamill and then taking it to the tired wrestler and finishing him early in the 3rd.
Matts keys to victory are simple in my mind, keep the hands up, press forward and dont let vera set up, be ready to catch legs, and as crazy as it may sound matt take him down(see jardine fight) score points and pound on him. Although this isnt likely to happen.
hamill.. by laying on him..
ya cause thats how he wins all his fights rights?
Did you guys miss the head kick last time out?
I think a lot of people are still in awe of Vera’s last fight. He has looked like garbage since he held out for more money from the UFC. He reminds me of Joe Riggs. Very talented but just disappoints come time for the big fight.I think Hamill wins UD by doing a little Sean Sherk special… Lay and pray. 29-28 Hamill
vera look very good in his last fight seemed very focused but hamill just to strong for him hamill wins unanimous!!!
vera will probably pummel matt unconcious. not a mis match though.
brick v lanky.
hamill will need side cont. amd to wear vera down. catch a leg – hopefully with an arm – not his chin.
it’ll be a great fight though.
i think hamill is top 10 or 15 material
evans, chuck, page,wand205, jardine, griffin, 205 hendo, franklin, and a few others
might still be too much
although
he didn’t have his guns set to kill against friend franklin. he won clearly against bisping. so he’s only lost to friend and elite guy franklin
I think Hamill will use his wrestling in this fight
Hamil is getting better and IMO I think he can surprise Vera, (and apparently a lot of people here). You cannot discount Hamil’s wrestling, and like someone said earlier to some degree, Vera will make it very easy for Hamil to take him down if he relies too heavily on leg kicks. However, using that as a distraction to help persuade Matt into training for a Tai fight, Vera could be planning a BJJ attack or a stand up fight, (which IMO is not what Vera should do here, i.e stand up no – BJJ yes), Hamil’s stand up has gotten better but he also has this crazy ability to walk right through big shots and that makes him very dangerous if you don’t KNOCK HIM OUT! so I think Vera should use his kicks to put Hamil in a defensive mode and when he feels the time is right, take him down and submit him. I’m sure there will be lots of “other” opinions regarding this fight. Vera wins 2nd round 4th min by rear naked.
I think the chances of Vera taking Hamill down are very low, but not totally out of the question.
I think everyone is under estimating Vera’s wrestling. Hamill was a div 3 national champ. Vera wrestled div 1 and was training for the Greko Olympic wrestling team before getting into mma. Would you take the div 3 national champ football team over a div 1 better then average team. Doubtful… And really think he hasn’t fought people a whole lot stronger then Hamill. You know hes stepping into the octagon way over 205 hes just in much better shape then he used to be so he doesn’t look as bulky.
I understand the differences between NCAA Div.1 and Div.3, and how they apply to team sports, but wrestling is a bit different. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that a Div.3 guy beats or even pins a Div.1 guy in wrestling.
Also, wrestling as it relates to MMA is all about application IMO. From what I’ve seen, Hamill applies his wrestling skills to greater advantage than Vera does. It could be because Vera has a broader skill set, or he just flat-out prefers throwing hands rather than shooting for his opponents legs.
I think Vera will win the fight, but not by out-wrestling and/or out-powering Hamill. And if Hamill can somehow position Vera aginst the cage, dirty-box him into a takedown, make with the g-n-p, and ride him out, he can snare a UD. Not likely, or even appealing, but possible. If Hamill keeps this thing on his feet, his outlook is pretty poor IMO.
Plus I think Hamill is advancing faster than Vera at this point in terms of all-around game. Obviously Vera is the more well-rounded fighter, but Hamill has shown improvement almost every time out, and from what I’ve seen Vera holds pretty much the same skill-set, which is considerable, he had when he beat Frank Mir.
Don’t be totally shocked if Hamill pulls this one out…
everyone also doubted hamill when he fought Tim Boetsch, everyone thought that he was a better wrestler and they were proved wrong. a good question i have is why is ol’ ****ty tim on the ufc undisputed game and hamill, who has a victory over him, is nowhere to be seen on the game. but i digress. hamill will get smart since the franklin fight and not stand up the entire time, he squeeze out a victory via ground and pound, if he doesnt win just by scoring more using takedowns.