TOP 5
WHO: MATT HAMILL
WHERE: VENATOR FC – ITALY
Following a lot of
niggling injuries,
Matt Hamill retired from
fighting in 2014. There’s
something about a lot
of – well, most — fighters
though, where retirement
always only ever seems
to be a temporary thing.
Hamill made his return
in 2015, where he lost to
Vinny Magalhaes by way
of submission in the first
round at WSOF 24. Not
to be discouraged, Hamill
is still fighting on, and
looking to fight wherever
he can get his name
added to a card.
Most recently Hamill
signed on with Venator
FC, an Italian-based
promotion. Hamill hasn’t
exactly looked the best
in mixed martial arts
competition in recent
years, with years of
fighting and wrestling
likely to have caught up
to him. That being said,
though, he has a name
that fans can identify
with and it’s a fight like
this that would give
Silva a good return to
professional competition.
Hamill’s expertise in
wrestling would certainly
play in his favour, with
Silva being a much more
renowned striker. The
fight itself wouldn’t be as
cut and dry as you would
expect, with Silva having
a very underutilised
ground game and with
Hamill being notoriously
hard to stop. For Silva,
it’s probably not so much
about fights that he can
easily win, but more
about where he will make
the most money and get
the most exposure. While
this may not be the most
exciting potential bout
that stands before Silva
in his new era as a free
agent, it’s probably one of
the safest when it comes
to risk versus reward.
WHY:
42 | FIGHT AUSTRALIA fightaustralia.com.au