Ultimate Fighter 3: Matt Hamill and Mike Nickels - 06/01/06 - *Spoilers*

Mamoth · 06-02-2006, 08:19 AM

Seems somewhat sloppy as far as a fight goes (I agree with Dana White in what he said). Matt Hamill kind of showed that he can stand and fight but lacks the submission game when put on the ground. I think once he gets his submissions working, he might be tough to beat.

At any rate, a decent show, an ok fight... looking forward to next week for the semi-finals and such. =)

Magister · 06-02-2006, 08:23 AM

You posted this 2 minutes before I started one.

I was severely disappointed in this fight. They both seem to stink. But at least we saw that Matt can punch.

Mamoth · 06-02-2006, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Magister

I was severely disappointed in this fight. They both seem to stink. But at least we saw that Matt can punch.

Lot of good blood tho

Magister · 06-02-2006, 08:47 AM

I didn't realize that Matt has zero submission skills. Mike seemed to have given up halfway into the first round, Matt could have just ended it there.

I had hoped to see some good knees and kicking from Mike, guess he was just done..

ireland967 · 06-02-2006, 09:01 AM

I agree Matt could have ended the fight on dozens of occasions, but I can't say his fighting was sloppy - he dominated the entire fight. He did seem winded at times, but there was some very effective striking while on their feet. Hard to tell how much his arm injury affected him and limited his wrestling, but if we can see this striking with his wrestling skills, he's definitely the LH to beat.

I think Matt transferred his deafness to Mike at some point - I don't know how many times Shamrock yelled out "front kick, front kick" to no avail. At one point in the 2nd round I think I heard him yell out "just do it once Mike".

Mamoth · 06-02-2006, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ireland967

I think Matt transferred his deafness to Mike at some point

HAHA... it's funny because it's true.

One thing that might hurt Matt is the fact that Tito is unable to give instruction to him during the fight. I know Tito saw that Matt's arm was fine and he should have ground and pounded the crap out of Mike. One of the biggest benefits I see is getting into the ring and getting coached by someone that has been-there-done-that.

Vanis · 06-02-2006, 09:54 AM

I thought the fight was kind of sloppy. I was glad to see Matt win, just cause I love Team Punishment, but I wasn't impressed with either guy. Mike definitely gave up to early...something mental was going on there I believe.

Tito sees something in Matt, so I believe Matt has a lot of potential...but he still has a lot of development to undergo imo...mainly with submissions, but that's not something to take lightly. Hopefully Tito will continue to train him. I'm still wondering what happened to Matt at the end when he left to go to the hospital. Anyone have any info on that?

robbins · 06-02-2006, 10:16 AM

Matt was VERY sloppy, they both were. You should never turn your back, lower your hands, and things like that. Also, I knew Matt was going to win before the fight even started because I could see it in Mike's face...he was already beaten.

ClutchBrake · 06-02-2006, 10:50 AM

Mike was a HUGE disappointment. Matt landed the first jab and Mike just quit. He was practically begging for Matt to end it. He looked like a turtle just trying to retreat to his shell. What the hell was all the talk of being a tough as nails street fighter and taking on multiple guys at one time? Judging by the fact that he had no scars or anything to show for it I figured he was either full of crap or one bad mofo. Guess we know now.

Last night was the second time I felt bad for Shamrock. Granted I want Team Punishment to win every fight but with last night's fight and the Josh/Tait fight Ken was trying to give his fighter excellent advice but they JUST WOULDN'T LISTEN. In the Tait fight he kept telling him to sweep and take Josh to the ground. But he never even really tried. Last night it was knees and front kicks. The one time Mike threw a real knee last night it caught Matt right in the chin, just as Ken said it would.

I was also pretty disappointed with Matt. True he did dominate the entire fight but he also had dozens of opportunities to end it and never converted. Not being able to be coached during the fight is a bit of a drawback. But in the real octagon I don't think that will be an issue.

The last few fights have been shining examples of just what it really takes to be at the level of an Ortiz, Arlovski, Hughes, or Liddell. The Ultimate Fighter guys wouldn't last a minute with any of those guys. And most average joes wouldn't last a minute with any of the Ultimate Fighter guys.

I haven't really been impressed with any of the fights I've seen (but I didn't start at the beginning of the season). Of the fighters I've seen thus far only Bisping has impressed me as someone well on his way to having what it takes to step into the real octagon.

Regarding the previews for next week...

Spoiler:

Magister · 06-02-2006, 11:28 AM

Spoiler discussion from previews

Spoiler: