UFC 130: Five Reasons Why Matt Hamill Will Upset Quinton "Rampage" Jackson

The brand new main event of UFC 130, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Matt "The Hammer" Hamill, might have some heavy shoes to fill with Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard sidelined, but even with no title being on the line for UFC 130, the card still packs enough of a punch to create some intrigue.

On paper, it would seem that Hamill is in an uphill battle against a tough legend of the sport and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, but Rampage can still be defeated by any percentage of fighters, and Hamill is no exception.

The question now is, can Hamill hand Rampage defeat in what is arguably the biggest fight of his career?

Edgar and Maynard are sharing a shelf right now, and it'll be close to the end of the estimated six-to-eight-week time of rehabilitation before we hear about whether the rematch of the UFC's first main event (and "Fight of The Night" bonus winner, and title fight, and "Fight of The Year" candidate) of the calendar year 2011 will headline the upcoming UFC 133 card or the UFC 135 card that is slated to have Matt Hughes-Diego Sanchez on it, but for now, it's Hamill and Rampage we're all taking about.

Without further ado, it's time to go to school. Here are five of the reasons why Hamill WILL upset Rampage in about two weeks.

His Wrestling Game/Strength

Rampage has always been notable for his powerful hands and his slams, which take a backseat to no others in mixed martial arts.

His wrestling has never been a question mark in its own right, but a lack of strong takedown defense may have been easily exposed along with a question of his chin during the otherwise-panned UFC 114 bout with "Suga" Rashad Evans.

Aside from that, Hamill's powerful takedowns are like Pat Barry's leg kicks: Regardless of what your name and record are, it's going to put you down if he gets it on you.

Rampage will really need to study the top game of Hamill and figure out a way to neutralize it to be successful.

Just a fun suggestion: Quinton shouldn't bank on Hamill sticking to the stand-up after a few sprawls.

If he gets taken down, he'll need a way to be effective from the bottom.

Diverse Striking

The last guy that said Matt Hamill's head was soft (pictured) got his face pounded by Hamill's fists.

Luckily, Rampage has not said anything to the familiar, but that doesn't take him out of the woods on the feet, either.

Ever since Jackson stepped foot in the UFC, he's been putting his hands to good use, but the power in his hands is really the only thing of note aside from the flashes of wrestling he's shown.

This could be a problem for him against Hamill, who has proven to have a very diverse striking game and has finished people with not only his fists, but a head kick as well.

Hamill has show that he can mix up his striking when he needs to.

Rampage has just shown that he can slug with some of the toughest of the tough in the UFC's 205-pound class.

KO Power

Rampage has it in his hands, as do most MMA fighters with KO power, but Hamill's power is not only in his hands.

He showed that at UFC 97 when he landed a Cro Cop-style head kick that left Mark Munoz unconscious and sent The Filipino Wrecking Machine down to Middleweight.

Perhaps the knee injury that kept him out of UFC 102 might cause the situation to be different this time out, but the KO power cannot be denied in Hamill.

Rampage is good, but come May 28, Hamill could just be the better man.

Endurance

Rampage's toughness and ability to go the distance should never be questioned, but neither should Hamill's.

For a guy who some experts believe lacks cardio and endurance, Hamill has shown on seven different occasions that he has what it takes to at least get past the first round, and the fact of his six wins by knockout should speak to his ability to finish, as opposed to the question of whether he can hang with someone for more than five minutes.

Lest we forget, he's gone to four career decisions, and in the minds of most fans, he won all four regardless of what you might pick up from the mouths of the two judges that gave that fight to Michael Bisping in the UK at UFC 75.

Even if his record says he lost once by the cards, most fans feel that Hamill did beat Bisping, and that the 10-2 record is a result of the infamous fight with Jon Jones.

Hamill has left no doubt in his other three long-distance affairs about whether he really won, looking as the aggressor for the duration of those bouts from start to finish.

Expect more of the same from Hamill at UFC 130.

Rising to the Occasion

When this UFC 130 fight became the main event after both Edgar and Maynard were sidelined with injuries, the pressure fell on both Rampage and Hamill to deliver one of the most action-packed Light Heavyweight bouts in recent memory.

Of course, many would think the pressure is on Hamill to beat Rampage more than it is on Rampage to beat Hamill, especially with the number of people that could easily see Rampage getting the "W," but that's how Hamill has always played it.

Sometimes he was a crowd favorite, and sometimes he was as heel as anyone, but there's really only two times in which fans may argue that he did not truly deliver when the occasion called for him to step his game up.

Actually, depending on who you converse with, maybe the Rich Franklin fight was the only example of Hamill not being able to deliver, but most feel Bones was seconds away from victory before that elbow.

Anyway, the point is that except for one or two times, Hamill has been able to make a statement when the situation has called for it, and that is partially why he is where he is right now.

Now he has the biggest career fight of his journey ahead of him, and if he beats Rampage without debate or argument, he starts putting his name up there with the Forrest Griffins and Phil Davises of the world as he gets into the mix at Light Heavyweight.

That's reason enough to believe that he will in fact step up come UFC 130.