Jon Jones Brings the Hype, Will Matt Hamill Bring "The Hammer"?

At 22 years old, undefeated prospect Jon “Bones” Jones has established himself as a fighter to watch in the UFC’s Light-Heavyweight division. A former Greco-Roman wrestling champion in high school and college, Jones has rapidly evolved into one of the 205-pound division's fiercest strikers.

Not many martial artists can consistently pull off high-risk techniques, such as spinning elbows and spinning back kicks, inside the Octagon, but Jones is the exception and it’s that type of blend of unorthodox combinations that make him such an exciting athlete.

“Bones” made his Octagon debut at UFC 87, scoring a unanimous decision victory over Andre Gusmao on the preliminary portion of the card, but it was his second UFC performance that really opened eyes. At UFC 94, he would make his main card debut on a historic Pay-Per-View, taking on Ultimate Fighter finalist Stephan Bonnar.

Jones was a relative unknown at the time, so it comes to no surprise that many favored Bonnar to win the bout. Jones completely and utterly manhandled Bonnar around the Octagon with his powerful wrestling base and showcased his flashy striking offense en route to a dominant unanimous decision victory.

Needless to say, fans everywhere were impressed and some even praised “Bones” as a future world champion.

His third UFC bout would come against a very experienced fighter in “Irish” Jake O’Brian at the monumental UFC 100 event. O’Brian is a powerful wrestler that spent most of his career fighting as a heavyweight and Jones easily stuffed his takedowns.

Jones landed his signature spinning elbow strike before finishing O’Brian in the second round with a tight guillotine choke.

Three fights into the UFC and MMA enthusiasts are already comparing “Bones” to a younger version of UFC champs Georges St. Pierre and Anderson Silva. Jones certainly has all the potential to not only live up to those expectations, but go far and beyond that and develop into one of the all-time greatest fighters in the sport.

But let us not over-hype Jones just yet, because the 22-year-old still has plenty left to prove. Fans usually find themselves buying into the hype of an athlete to such a degree to where, in their minds, they believe said athlete is invincible and that is simply not the case, especially in the unpredictable realm of combat sports.

At The Ultimate Fighter 10 finale on December 5th, Jones will meet the toughest test to date in his career when he battles TUF season three veteran, Matt “The Hammer” Hamill.

Like Jones, Hamill comes from a strong Greco-Roman background, except Hamill’s credentials are far more impressive. He was a three-time NCAA Division III National Champion, as well as a silver medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling and a gold medalist in freestyle wrestling from the 2001 Summer Deaflympics.

Supplementing his wrestling base, Hamill has been working hard over the years to develop a sound stand-up game. The inspirational Light-Heavyweight still looks a tad bit stiff on his feet, but he possesses incredible knockout power, as evident in his recent head-kick victory over fellow wrestling stud Mark Munoz at UFC 96.

If “Bones” enters the Octagon and thoroughly runs through Hamill, it will elevate the Team Jackson fighter into the upper echelon of the stacked 205-pound division.

Such a task is entirely unlikely, considering the fact that Hamill has never been dominated before and has only been defeated twice in his career—a TKO loss to former UFC Middleweight champ Rich Franklin and a highly controversial split decision defeat at the hands of TUF rival Michael Bisping.

Jones is the quicker fighter, and if able to defend Hamill’s overwhelming takedowns, he would have a distinct advantage on the feet. This is likely going to be the game plan that Jones’ new head coach, Greg Jackson, will lay out for him. Stay on the outside, avoid Hamill’s power shots as well as his takedowns, and pick him apart with ruthless striking combos.

Hamill is known for his extremely durable chin, but he has been finished once before from a devastating liver-kick, which is something Jackson and Jones will be looking to exploit once again. Hamill has the tendency to leave his body wide open and if Jones can land one of those tree-chopping kicks he could finish the fight, but that would also leave Jones open for a takedown.

As previously mentioned, Jones did an excellent job of defending the takedown against O’Brian, but Hamill is an entirely different beast. Jones is well-versed off his back and has been constantly evolving under the tutelage of Jackson, but having an overpowering monster such as Hamill working his ground n’ pound from the dominant position is not going to be a fun adventure for “Bones.”

This is a very interesting fight and will prove to be much more competitive than most expect. Jones is hyped up as the next big thing and it seems most are predicting an easy victory for him against Hamill, and that’s a mistake. If Jones can get past Hamill, then obviously that will send a huge message to the rest of the division, but until then, he’s just a talented newcomer with limitless potential.

Jones may one day become the greatest UFC Light-Heavyweight champion that ever lived, but he’s not there yet. As talented as Hamill is, he is stuck in “gate-keeper status” and needs to compile consecutive wins over top contenders in order to elevate himself into the upper-echelon where he feels he rightfully belongs.

The winner of this fight takes one step closer to accomplishing his dream of becoming a UFC champion. Most believe Jones is already guaranteed to accomplish that goal, but let’s not entirely count out “The Hammer” just yet.