UFC 130 Results: Rampage vs. Hamill

[Boanerges]

Pay-Per-View Bouts
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson def. Matt Hamill via unanimous decision (30-27 3x)
Frank Mir def. Roy Nelson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Travis Browne def. Stefan Struve via KO (Superman Punch) - R1, 4:11
Rick Story def. Thiago Alves via unanimous decision (29-28 3x)
Brian Stann def. Jorge Santiago via TKO (punches) - R2, 4:29

Preliminary Bouts
Demetrious Johnson def. Miguel Torres via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Tim Boetsch def. Kendall Grove via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Gleison Tibau def. Rafaello Oliveira via submission (rear-naked choke) - R2, 3:28
Michael McDonald def. Chris Cariaso via split decision
Renan Barao def. Cole Escovedo via unanimous decision

[Boanerges]

By Matt Erickson
MMA writer

Mir (14-5, 12-5 UFC), a former UFC heavyweight champion, knocked out Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic at UFC 119 last September. Nelson (15-5, 2-1 UFC), the Season 10 winner of "The Ultimate Fighter" and the former IFL heavyweight champ, went the distance with Junior dos Santos at UFC 117 last August, losing a unanimous decision. He returns following knee surgery.

Mir and Nelson are both native Las Vegans and sometimes training partners. They faced each other in a submission grappling tournament eight years ago, won by Nelson.

Round 1: At long last, after lots of friend vs. friend buildup, Mir-Nelson has arrived. Nelson pushes in early, but Mir reverses and pushes Nelson against the cage in the clinch. Mir looks for knees as Nelson reverses. As tehy break, Mir lands a glancing knee to Nelson's chin, then lands another decent knee at center cage. A left high kick from Mir just misses, and another knee is also close. Nelson pushes Mir to the cage and Mir again lands some big knees. Nelson stays standing, but the crowd is wondering for how long. Nelson survives the barrage and again pushes Mir to the fence. Mir struggles to keep Nelson's mop of mulletness out of his face, and the two break with a couple nice shots from Nelson. Mir ducks under another one, then lands a couple more knees. Out of nowhere, though, a beautiful trip takedown from Mir has Nelson on his back with Mir up top in mount. Nelson gives his back, but gets back to his feet and muscles Mir to the fence. It's a solid round for Mir, the former heavyweight champ, 10-9 on the MMA Fighting card, and a really fun fight so far.

Round 2: They high five for Round 2, and Nelson throws a haymaker early. But Mir follows with a huge left kick to Nelson's gut, and then another. The fight moves back to the fence, this time with Mir in control. HE manages to bully his way to another takedown, though not nearly as impressive as his first, and starts to work on wearing Nelson down. But Nelson again muscles his way back up, and the crowd says it is happy by yelling and clapping. Both men look to be tired midway through the fight. They clinch up, but Mir goes low and lands another takedown. Mir tries to work out of half guard, but once again Nelson starts to muscle his way back to standing. He then looks to bully his way to a takedown of his own, but has to throw a sloppy and tired-looking haymaker. He lands a straight right after Mir lands a kick, though. He looks gassed, but Mir looks a little tired, too. The two tired 260-pounders end the round with nothing much but a stalemated clinch. MMA Fighting gives Round 2 to Mir, 10-9.

Round 3: Round 3 starts with one last touch of gloves and a smile from the two Las Vegans, who share many mutual best friends and sometimes train together. Sweat flies from Nelson's hair, and his ponytail is now gone, as Mir lands a left. The crowd is quickly restless as the two lumbering heavyweights' apparent fatigue. A minute in, Mir gets the fight to the cage, then goes low again for an easy double-leg takedown. Mir passes out to half guard and pins Nelson's right arm down for a moment. But again Nelson earns the crowd's love by fighting back to his feet. But he's not there long, as Mir again drops down, grabs the legs and lifts Nelson for a quick and easy slam. When Nelson again fights back up, Mir again takes him down. He lands two big elbows on the ground. Then a third as Nelson tries to wriggle out. Nelson again gets back up, but with 20 seconds left this fight has been over for a while. Nelson has no steam. The third goes to Mir 10-9, and the fight should go to him 30-27.

Result: Frank Mir def. Roy Nelson, unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

[Boanerges]

May 28 2011 Last updated at 11:04 PM ET
By Matt Erickson
MMA writer

Jackson (31-8, 6-2 UFC) is coming off a split decision win over fellow former light heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida at UFC 123 in November. Hamill (10-2, 9-2 UFC) has won five straight – including a controversial disqualification win over current champion Jon Jones in December 2009.

A win by Jackson could put him next in line to face Jones for the 205-pound title later this fall.

Round 1: They meet in the middle for instructions. They touch gloves. The MGM Grand reports Rampage closed as a -250 favorite to Hamill's +200 underdog. Hamill kicks first. Rampage stays outside. Hamill throws a high kick. Hamill shoots 30 seconds in, but Rampage defends well and throws a combo to push him back. Rampage now in the center. Straight left jab from Hamill misses. High kick from Hamill misses. Rampage stalks, then lands a tight right uppercut. Right kick from Hamill is checked by Rampage, and Hamill fakes a teep to try and keep some distance. Right-left from Hamill, then a kick that Rampage tries to counter off of. Rampage nearly lands a big uppercut. Two rights from Hamill are followed by two frights from Rampage. Hamill then shoots again, but Rampage defends it with a knee to the body. Hamill goes low for a takedown, but it's again not there. Rampage opens up a little with a right-left-right combo. Left jab from Hamill pushes Rampage back, and he misses a follow-up right. Hamill again has nothing in the form of a takedown, and Rampage gets a little offense on the break. With 25 seconds left, he has Hamill possibly hurt and backing up. Rampage seemed to control things a little more and the late flurry helped give him a 10-9 round on our card.

Round 2: High kick from Hamill opens things up, but Rampage has none of it and counters with enough to back Hamill up. Another sort-of shot from Hamill does nothing but lead to a clinch, and Rampage pushes him against the fence. Rampage throws a knee that lands to the body. Then another as he defends Hamill's desire for a takedown. Another awkward-looking shot from Hamill leads to more Rampage offense, and he nearly lands a huge knee to the chin. They tie up briefly, then break. The crowd grows quite restless on a night that has seen just one submission and two knockouts. They dance and feint and paw jabs for a minute with little real activity. Hamill goes in again for a takedown, but Rampage again defends. A right-left-right from Rampage is the best offense of the fight so far, but Hamill doesn't go down. Rampage follows with a big shot to the body as time winds down in the frame. MMA Fighting gives the second to Rampage, 10-9.

Round 3: Quick start with a left from Rampage. Hamill has to believe he needs to finish the fight to get a victory. He shoots, but again Rampage defends on his feet. The two trade knees and tie up. Again, the crowd grows restless. Rampage throws a left that Hamill blocks, but lands a right to the body. Hamill then ties things up on the fence as the crowd again boos. Halfway through the round, they break. Hamill misses a jab. But Rampage lands a nice left that seems to wobble Hamill for a moment. Hamill seems tired. He thinks he catches a low blow, but Herb Dean doesn't give him the stop. The crowd really boos now as Hamill throws a lazy punch. Rampage ties him up along the cage now with a minute left. They trade positions. Not much happening until Rampage throws a small late flurry, but it doesn't put Hamill down. Hamill takes a knee, and a great big beer comes flying to the cage, landing on the photographers. It's another 10-9 round for Rampage, and MMA Fighting gives him the fight 30-27.

Result: Rampage Jackson def. Matt Hamill, unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

[murdermurder]

Imo Rampage deserved that win. He was way sharper and way more together than usually. He remains one of my favorite fighters.
Matt Hammil is always awesome to see. He is a really cool and humble guy

[mainbutter]

I was rooting for Hamill and Nelson that night, particularly because I've been disappointed in recent performances by Mir and Jackson.. but man did both of those guys deserve their wins. Still, is there anyone in the heavyweight division more difficult to KO or TKO than Big Country?

[bell60]

I was rooting for Hamill and Nelson that night, particularly because I've been disappointed in recent performances by Mir and Jackson.. but man did both of those guys deserve their wins. Still, is there anyone in the heavyweight division more difficult to KO or TKO than Big Country?

brock lesner