29It appears as though Matt Hamill‘s (11-5, 10-5 UFC) days fighting inside the Octagon are over.
According to multiple recent reports, the Loveland native has been released from his UFC contract following a loss to Thiago Silva at UFC Fight Night 29 earlier this month.
Hamill starred on The Ultimate Fighter 3 in 2006 but was injured during the filming of the show. He made his official UFC debut at The Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale, where he defeated Jesse Forbes. He won his first three fights in the UFC before losing a controversial split decision to TUF 3 champion Michael Bisping.
Hamill posted notable wins over Tim Boetsch, Jon Jones (via disqualification), Mark Munoz, and Tito Ortiz, and Keith Jardine, and it was originally thought that he was done with the sport following a retirement announcement in 2011 following a second straight loss. But Hamill returned just over a year later, where he defeated incoming prospect Roger Hollett at UFC 152. Hamill then had another year-plus break from the cage before his loss to Silva.
At 37 and with him not in the top ten at light heavyweight, the decision to cut Hamill isn’t a surprise. He was, however, an immensely popular fighter and is the only deaf fighter to ever compete in the UFC.
Hamill was a three-time NCAA Division III National Champion wrestler at the Rochester Institute of Technology and also earned a gold medal in Greco Roman wrestling at the 2001 Summer Deaflympics.