See that nasty looking red spot on Matt Hamill's back? Well, during the post-fight presser, he confirmed that it was a staph infection. Aside from fighting through that and getting his eye poked in the second round, Hamill also said that he gutted out a decision with a broken hand from the first.
Despite all of those, he still won a majority decision over Keith Jardine and got themselves a $25,000 'Fight of the Night' bonus for their troubles. Here's "the Hammer" talking about the damage he took on that fight:
It just happened so fast and I just go all out with my hands. I don't know what happened. I just fought my heart out. It happened in the 1st round. I knew something was wrong with my hand.
I lost my power and I was trying to go for a takedown. When I grabbed his leg, I had no power to grip... It looked like the Hulk. [Shows his broken hand and Laughs] ...And then he poked me in the eye. I thought I was going to be blind and deaf. Enough Handicaps. But I could fight all night on the feet. Even though I'm not good at striking. But I'm glad I came and fought.
Keith Jardine is a great fighter. I just wanna be in the top ten fighters in the world. I just want to let people know that I am a great fighter. I want people to know that I belong in the UFC and I'm gonna do better next time. If you are not happy with the way I'm fighting, I'm sorry. I'll come back again and do a lot better. I promise you that.
TUF 11 Finale Awards and Bonuses ($25,000 Each):
Fight of the Night - Matt Hamill vs Keith Jardine
Knockout of the Night - Chris Leben
Submission of the Night - Court McGee1,708 Fans -- Live Gate of $430,250
--video via mmaweekly
Get the latest gear
