UFC fighter Matt Hamill, the fighter who famously beat Jon Jones once, is trying to use Jones’ name once again to stay relevant.
The fight between Matt Hamill and Jon Jones took place at The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale on December 5, 2009, and it’s notable for several reasons, particularly because it resulted in Jon Jones’s only professional loss, albeit by disqualification (DQ).
This was a light heavyweight bout, and at the time, Jon Jones was an up-and-coming fighter, while Matt Hamill was a seasoned competitor in the UFC. Jon Jones dominated the early part of the fight. He was effective with his striking and grappling, showcasing the skill set that would later make him one of the greatest fighters in UFC history. However, the fight took a controversial turn in the first round.
Jones landed several 12-to-6 elbows on Hamill, who was on the ground. A 12-to-6 elbow, named for its trajectory resembling the movement from 12 o’clock to 6 o’clock on a clock, is considered illegal in MMA because it’s believed to pose a higher risk of serious injury, particularly to the eyes or the brain. Referee Steve Mazzagatti stopped the fight due to these illegal strikes, disqualifying Jones and awarding the win to Hamill.
This decision has been debated extensively within the MMA community. Many argue that Jones should not have been disqualified because the elbows, while illegal, were not intentionally used to target vulnerable areas like the eyes. There’s a sentiment that the fight should have been ruled a no-contest or even a win for Jones due to his dominance prior to the infraction.
This DQ loss remains on Jon Jones’s record, making his professional record 26-1-1 (with the ‘1’ being this DQ loss). However, discussions around this fight often highlight the asterisk next to Jones’s record, suggesting that in terms of actual combat effectiveness, Jones was not truly beaten.
Following this fight and over the years, there’s been considerable discussion about the 12-to-6 elbow rule. Recently, the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC) removed the 12-to-6 elbow as a foul, which has led to calls for Jones’s record to be amended. This change in rules has sparked conversations about retroactively applying new rules to past fights, though it’s unclear if such a change would officially alter Jones’s record.
Jon Jones himself, along with fans and analysts, has occasionally brought up this fight, especially in light of rule changes, suggesting that the loss should be overturned or changed to a no-contest. Matt Hamill, in response to these discussions, has suggested a rematch to settle the debate once and for all, although this has not materialized.
This fight remains a significant point of discussion in MMA, not just for the technical aspects of the fight but for what it represents in terms of rule enforcement, fighter conduct, and the sport’s evolving nature.
Now, after Jones has claimed titles such as one of the greatest fighters of all time, Hamill wants some attention once again.
“No worries,” Hamill replied to a user claiming Jones can’t be a GOAT because of his unclean record. “He lost to me. He refused to have a rematch. I guess he was out of PEDs. That’s a bummer.”
There are many who believe that Jones would have won that rematch. Either way, Hamill has nothing really going on these days, so his newest claim to fame, or attempt to get back to it, would of course be the best thing he has done in his career.
