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Matt “The Hammer” Hamill (-165) vs. Mark “The Philippine Wrecking Machine" Munoz (+135)

by Stan Leung
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UFC 96 Jackson vs. Jardine
March 7th, 2009 7 PM
Matt Hamill vs. Mark Munoz
UFC Betting Pick: Mark Munoz(+135)

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UFC Light Heavyweight Fight: Matt “The Hammer” Hamill (-165) vs. Mark “The Philippine Wrecking Machine" Munoz (+135)

This will be Matt “The Hammer” Hamill (5-2) biggest test to date. He showed a lot of heart versus his fight with Rich Franklin at UFC 88 - Breakthrough. However, this is the first time Hamill is going to face a high level wrestler and this will pose problems for him.

Mark “The Philippine Wrecking Machine´ Munoz (5-0) is a better wrestler than Hamill is. We constantly hear that Hamill is great wrestler but he is not as good as the UFC markets him to be. Matt has a silver medal in Greco-Roman wrestling and a gold medal in freestyle wrestling from the 2001 Summer Deaflympics.. Sure he was great among deaf competitors but he never fought able bodied fighters.


In essence he was big fish in a small pond. Don’t get me wrong he also fought and was a three-time NCAA Division III National Champion in wrestling at Rochester Institute of Technology. But to my recollection, I don’t remember Rochester Institute of Technolog being a real big power house school in wreslting. Also Division III is not as good as Div 1 or Div 2.

Munoz on the other hand is a very accomplished wrestler from a very good program. In high school, Muñoz was a two-time California State Wrestling Champion at 189 pounds for Vallejo high school, Asics First Team All American and the 1996 NHSCA National High School Champion. In college he wrestled for Big Ten powerhouse Oklahoma State University where he captured two Big 12 titles and earned back-to-back All-America honors at 197 pounds, including his NCAA title as a senior in 2001.


He became the first Filipino American at the Division I Level to win a National Championship. He also made the NWCA All-Academic Team for three years and the Big 12 All-Academic squad for four. Additionally, Muñoz was a three-year member of the FILA Junior World Wrestling Team, earning the silver medal in 1998.

Striking wise, Hamill has vastly improved on his striking and no longer has that upright striking stance but as the rounds go on, he tends to drop his hands and revert back to his poor stance. In his short MMA career he has fought some very tough opponents like Reese Andy at UFC 92 - The Ultimate 2008, Tim Boetsch at UFC Fight Night 13 and Kimbo killer Seth Petruzelli. Granted Munoz has not fought the level of competition that Hamill has but out of his 5 wins, he has had 3 wins by knockout and all in the first round. Both fighters have incredible power but The Philippine Wrecking Machine is just as capable a striker as Hamill and as better striking technique.


One of the biggest advantages Munoz has is his kicks. He has been training a lot of Muay Tai and he will be able to push off Hamill with lower leg kicks. Those kicks will eventually take its toll and Hamill will not be able to shoot in. Hamill never checks his kicks in his fights and has not worked hard enough on his Muay Tai.

Bottom Line: I see this fight as a real battle as both fighters are good wrestlers. However, Hamill’s striking is not that great and he gets hit lots and he cuts easy. Both guys have good knock out power but I like Munoz’s ground and pound game a little better and he has better wrestling skills to take Hamill down. Munoz also has better grappling skills and I can see him catching Hamill if he is napping.


Sport betting wise for two even fighters I would place my bet in the underdog Munoz (+135). Munoz is just a little better in every category and the fact we have never seen Hamill fight a true wrestler before he will to be able to overpower or push around Munoz in this fight.

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