Matt Hamill believes upsetting Rampage at UFC 130, especially by submission, would be the highlight of his career.
I'm just two days away from being in the main event of UFC 130 here at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and I cannot wait. My fight against Rampage Jackson is going to be a war, a true battle.
I am the underdog, people say I am going to lose, but I've been the underdog in my last five fights. Dana White said at the press conference I've been the underdog my whole life, and he's right.
Growing up deaf everyone picked against me doing a lot of things people take for granted. I've proved them wrong and I will prove a lot of people wrong on Saturday. Rampage is one of the best fighters in the world, maybe the No. 2 or No. 3 guy in the division, and I've not beat anyone in the top 5 yet -- but everyone has to step up some time and Saturday is my time.
It's been a long road but from Day One I believed I could do this. I've had over 3,000 emails over the last week from the deaf community not just in the USA, but Canada, Australia, the U.K. and even Russia saying they are rooting for me to win and prove a point, that a deaf athlete can win at the very highest level. It's very special to me to get that support.
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It's funny, I've had so many emails from Manchester, England, where Michael Bisping is from. Michael and I were teammates on the Ultimate Fighter and then had a fight four years ago in London where he got the decision. It was very close and a lot of people thought I won.
Michael is a great fighter, and we've both moved on in our careers, but it is funny there are so many deaf people from his town who are fans of mine. If only Bisping learned sign language!
No one has knocked me out in my career. I've never been rocked or stunned by punches and even though I am not looking to prove anything by taking punches on Saturday night, I'm not frightened by Rampage's big punches.
I know I can be knocked out. Everyone can. But I don't think even Rampage can just hit me and get me gone. He will be surprised when I can take his shots. I don't think he can knock me out easily.
I'm not afraid at all to strike with him. I've always been very strong, but I've learned to put that power into punches. Rampage is a great boxer, but when he is worried about kicks and takedowns, I will be able to land my own punches just like Rashad Evans did.
Against Bisping, I think I surprised him by standing with him and striking. He thought I was going to take him down but I had a knee injury and so I had to punch with him. That was a necessity, but against Bisping's friend Rampage, I have another plan which I think will surprise him. If Rampage has trained just to avoid the takedown he has made a mistake and it is too late for him to change.
Rampage hasn't been submitted in 10 years but I think I am strong enough to take him down and submit him. That would be a great win for me.
A writer told me he talked to Renzo Gracie, who I trained BJJ with and has taught me so much, but my first thought was "Ahhh, I hope I am not in trouble!" But the journalist said Renzo was kind enough to say my BJJ has really come on.
That made me so happy to hear because the hardest part of learning MMA for me is BJJ. It took me a long time to learn, to understand BJJ because I cannot hear Renzo or my coaches while I am grappling or trying to apply a technique.
I have to watch it a few times, then I ask so many questions and they have to be so patient with me. Then I try myself. I have to make mistakes and ask why I am making mistakes and then ask questions until I get it.
But it is not just because I can't hear. In wrestling I learned to use strength, all the time, and BJJ is not about that. Even if I could hear BJJ would be a challenge for me, but I think I'm getting there now.
I arrived on The Ultimate Fighter with just wrestling, that was it. Now I am fully rounded. I didn't have any striking skills in TUF but since then I've scored some good knockouts... now I want a good submission.
I think submitting Rampage would be the highlight of my career.
Matt Hamill takes on Quinton (Rampage) Jackson in the main event of UFC 130 on Saturday, May 28 in Las Vegas. He will blog weekly for sportsnet.ca ahead of his fight.
UFC 130 will be shown live on pay-per-view at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT. And you can watch two live preliminary fights on Sportsnet at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.
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