UFC 152 Fight Card Primer: Matt Hamill Vs. Roger Hollett
by Fraser Coffeen on Sep 22, 2012 4:00 PM EDT
At UFC 152: Jones vs. Belfort, two Light Heavyweights meet as Matt Hamill (10-4 MMA; 9-4 UFC) faces Roger Hollett (13-3 MMA; UFC Debut). This is the second bout on the UFC 152 PPV. Neither man is ranked in the USA TODAY / MMA Nation Consensus MMA Rankings. The UFC 152 PPV airs live Saturday night September 22 at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT.
The big story of this fight clearly focuses on Hamill, who returns from a one year retirement with this fight. It's a weird road we've taken here as well. Originally, this was announced as Hamill vs. Hollett. Hollett was then pulled from the bout for what was later revealed to be Bellator contractual issues, and was replaced by Vladimir Matyushenko. When The Janitor went down to injury, he was replaced by... Roger Hollett. Weird.
How do these two stack up?
Hamill: 35 years old | 6'1" | 76" reach
Hollett: 33 years old | 5'10"
What have these two done recently?
Hamill: L - Alexander Gustafsson (TKO) | L - Quinton Jackson (UD) | W - Tito Ortiz (UD)
Hollett: W - John Hawk (SD) | W - Martin Desilets (TKO) | W - Mychal Clark (UD)
How did these two get here?
Matt "The Hammer" Hamill comes here rather unexpectedly. Last year, after back to back loses, he announced his retirement seemingly out of the blue. Now, a year later, he just as suddenly announced his comeback. A veteran of TUF season 3, Hamill was originally known in the UFC for his strong wrestling skills and his status as the UFC's first deaf fighter.
Over the years, he put together a solid career, adding a good striking game and wins over the likes of Tito Ortiz and Mark Munoz. He held his own against Rampage in his only PPV main event, and is overall an underrated talent. The big question here is just how committed he is to his return.
Roger "The Hulk" Hollett is a Canadian fighter out of Titan's MMA in Nova Scotia. He made his pro debut in 2006 and has so far fought exclusively in Canada. He's currently on a 5 fight win streak that includes a victory over John Hawk in Bellator last November. That win was supposed to put Hollett into the Bellator Light Heavyweight tournament, but that didn't happen. Hollett has struggled with injuries somewhat over the years, and at 33, it will be interesting to see if that plays a factor in his UFC career.
Why should you care?
This one is all about Hamill. Is he really back, or just looking for some publicity to help the push for Hamill The Movie? I'm curious to find out Saturday night.
More UFC 152 preview coverage from Bloody Elbow after the jump.
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Originally Posted by PAiN
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