Road to Rampage - Week 1: The Fight Matt Hamill Deserves

Taken from bloodyelbow.com

When Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard both went down to injury, Matt Hamill found himself unexpectedly thrust into his first ever UFC PPV Main Event, as his fight with Quinton Jackson will now headline UFC 130. As Hamill prepares, his team is releasing on online documentary chronicling his training. Titled "The Road to Rampage," the video will be released in a number of installments leading up to the May 28 fight. Check out the first episode here:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFVCbFvwlJI[/youtube]

What can I say, I am a sucker for these kinds of videos. They're a great reminder that the fighters who appear so large on our screen are really just people like the rest of us. This episode already has gone a long way towards getting me excited for this bout. When it was first announced, my gut reaction was that Hamill was not in Rampage's league, but they make a good case for Hamill getting his shot here. I'll be interested to see future installments and get a look at how Hamill is training for the biggest fight of his career, plus see how he responds to the added pressure of headlining the show.

Check back here for future episodes of "The Road to Rampage," and don't forget to watch Rampage Jackson's take on the preparation with "The Rampage Diaries." Good to see both men doing what they can to generate interest in their fight, as UFC 130 could definitely use a promotional boost. These videos alone aren't going to solve all the problems caused by the loss of Edgar vs. Maynard, but perhaps they can get more fans interested in this important Light Heavyweight fight.


Matt Hamill and the Road to Rampage - Week 2

Here's the second episode of "The Road to Rampage." The online documentary follows Matt Hamill as he prepares for his UFC 130 main event with Quinton Jackson. Episode 1 set the stage and made the case for why Hamill deserved the fight, while this one focuses more on his actual training and game plan. Take a look:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOs3Wvy3Dwo[/youtube]

While I think Hamill's wrestling is his strength, I'm not surprised to see Hamill focusing on his striking game here, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him turn the fight into a stand-up battle. His striking has made vast improvement since we first saw him on The Ultimate Fighter, but it's good to see him focusing on the basics of defense. Rampage is the kind of striker that doesn't need much of an opening to put his opponent down - as both Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva can attest. Hamill's emphasis on keeping the hands in tight and on movement are exactly what he needs to avoid their same fate.

The question for me will be how Hamill's power dictates the fight's longevity. As he himself notes, he's not a KO power striker, instead preferring to grind his opponents out on the feet. That's not a bad strategy, but it does mean looking for the decision win, which gives Rampage 15 minutes to find that opening. However, his team may be banking on Rampage not having the best conditioning and not being as strong a threat as the fight progresses.

Either way, this video has once again done it's job, as I am more intrigued to see how this fight goes down.

Source:
http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2011/5/15/21 ... age-week-1
http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2011/5/17/21 ... age-week-2