As I watched this fight on Spike TV here in the United States I had to admit that I was truly undecided on who I thought was going to win this fight. I really couldn't pick a winner no matter how many times I tried to analyze each fighter. Truly either fighter had the capability to win this fight. I personally felt, and would soon be proven correct; that the winner would be decided not only by who was the better fighter, but also by who didn't do what they should have done during the fight.
A lot of times fighters and fans alike seem to forget, or perhaps don't realize, that often times it is not so much what a fighter does right in the ring, but what his opponent does wrong that determines the outcome of a fight. Here is an old saying that I learned years ago from one of my instructors, "Eliminate your mistakes while capitalizing upon those of your opponents." Definitely words to fight by!
THE COMPETITORS:
Michael Bisping:
Bisping is an intelligent fighter and seems to be a fairly well rounded fighter although his ground game seems to be the weakest part of his repertoire. He is the winner of the Ultimate Fighter television reality series and is currently undefeated.
Matt Hamill:
Hamill is a highly decorated Greco-Roman wrestler with several prestigious wins to his credit including a gold medal win at the 1998 Pan Am Games. Hamill was also on the Ultimate Fighter series along with Bisping and were actually scheduled to compete in the finals but wasn't able to due to an injury. Hamill at the time of this fight was also undefeated.
What will follow is a detailed professional analysis of the fight from start to finish, concluding with some final thoughts concerning both fighters. Please keep in mind that these are my views from my own perspective of the events that transpired. They are by no means intended to shed any kind of negative or disparaging thoughts, words, etc. on either one of the fighters involved. I have a great deal of respect for anyone, and I do mean anyone, who steps onto the mat. So, with further ado let's get started.
THE FIGHT:
Round One:
Hamill pretty much controlled the entire first round with his aggressive attack and heavy although a bit unpolished punching. Bisping, although pretty much on the defensive the entire round, was obviously the much more polished fighter with a lot crispier punches and kicks.
Hamill at one point took Bisping down twice and allowed him the opportunity to get back up onto his feet, rather than taking advantage of his wrestling background to keep Bisping on the ground and apply some serious ground & pound. At approximately three minutes into the round, Hamill landed a beautiful right hand to the head of Bisping which resulted in a fairly good cut, although not one serious enough to stop the fight.
Throughout the first four minutes of the round it appeared to me that Bisping wasn't really putting anything on his punches as they appeared to be somewhat of a pitty-pat type of punches. This all changed with approximately one minute left to go in the round when all of a sudden Bisping's punches started landing with a lot more authority than they had been. Still they didn't seem to really have any effect on Hamill. Where in contrast Hamill's punches were definitely thrown with serious intent throughout the entire round.
Even though Bisping's punches weren't thrown as hard or as often, as Hamill's, he was without a doubt the better of the two at counterpunching. Not only did the majority of his counter punches land, but they also landed more accurately.
With fifteen seconds remaining in the first round Hamill lands another big right hand. Although this punch didn't knock Bisping down, it may have had some small effect on him losing his footing and falling to the canvas just before the end of the round.
Round Two:
Bisping opened up the round by throwing a rather feeble looking kick that Hamill immediately capitalized upon by grabbing Bisping's kicking leg and tackling him to the ground. Once again Hamill didn't take advantage of his wrestling background and keep Bisping on the ground where he would have been at a much greater disadvantage. This allowed Bisping the opportunity to once again regain his standing position.
Once he regained his standing position, Bisping attempted a roundhouse kick to the head of Hamill that was subsequently blocked. Hamill continued to stalk Bisping throughout the course of the round with his heavy yet rough punching style. Bisping on the other hand continued to effectively counterpunch his way through the round with crisp, accurate punches, which in my opinion gave him control of the fight.
Hamill was eventually able to get Bisping down to the ground momentarily before Bisping once again regained his standing position. Hamill continued his slow lumbering stalk of Bisping around the ring for the remainder of the round, but Bisping was obviously the more effective fighter as he continued applying his strategy of crisp, accurate counterpunching.
Round Three:
Hamill starts out the round with his menacing stalking approach that really had no effect at all on Bisping who continued to counterpunch Hamill at every opportunity. Hamill attempted two separate takedowns which Bisping managed to avoid each time. On his third attempted takedown, Hamill was finally able to take Bisping to the ground. However, he was not very good at controlling Bisping while he was on the ground and Bisping was able to regain his standing position after a few moments and resumed his punching attack.
Bisping attempted a knee strike to the midsection which resulted in him being taken down to the ground by Hamill. Once again Hamill was not very good at controlling Bisping while he was on the ground although he did manage to land a couple of punches to the head. Hamill's inability to control Bisping on the ground resulted in Bisping being able to regain his standing position where he launched another attack against Hamill with a barrage of punches and kicks. During this exchange Hamill managed to land a fairly good right hand to the head of Bisping.
Bisping countered Hamill's left hand with a pretty good left leg roundhouse kick to the head of Hamill as he was ducking down and in towards Bisping's lead leg in an attempt to take him down to the ground. The third and final round ended with Bisping avoiding a last second take down attempt by Hamill.
JUDGE'S DECISION:
The judge's decision in this fight was a split decision with the win going to Bisping. Now I know that this seemed to be a pretty unpopular decision with a lot of MMA fans, but when you really sit down and critique the fight, you can clearly see that Hamill won the first round and Bisping won the third round with the second round being the deciding round.
Now an argument could be made either way for either fighter. This in itself should be an indicator as to how the fight most could have been scored as a draw, but once again that is just my opinion. Although making the case for Bisping being the winner is a lot stronger than the case is for Hamill winning. I personally felt that the fight was won by Bisping due to the fact that he should a lot more skill in the fight than Hamill did. Even though Hamill was pretty much the aggressor throughout the entire fight, Bisping was the much more efficient fighter with his counterpunching and movement.
MY RECOMMENDATIONS:
Here are my thoughts on how each fighter could improve upon their respective abilities concerning this particular fight.
Bisping:
1. Learn to kick more effectively and efficiently.
2. Utilize your hand and foot combinations more effectively. Use your punches to set up your kicks and your kicks to set up your punches.
3. Where are your knees and uppercuts? These are perhaps two of the best strikes to use against a wrestler who dives in to take your legs. Learn them and use them!
4. Stick and Move; you did this to some degree during the fight, but not enough. Nothing frustrates an opponent more than not being able to find their opponent every time that they look for them.
Hamill:
His strategy for this particular fight was not entirely the correct one to use. He should have worked his way inside with his punches and then wrestled Bisping down to the ground and kept him there where he could have and should have delivered a ground and pound. By not doing this, you actually helped Bisping win this fight.
1. Work a lot more on your punching and get them a lot crisper. Watching this fight reminded me of the Ali/Foreman fight from the 70's. Watch this fight on tape or DVD and learn from it!
2. Why didn't you utilize your strongest weapon in your arsenal (your wrestling background) to your fullest advantage in this fight? You fought Bisping's fight not yours!
3. Learn to be a multi-dimensional fighter. Add some kicking and knee strikes to your repertoire of techniques and you will totally surprise your next opponent.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
I definitely feel that a rematch is in the cards for these fighters unless of course Bisping decides to drop down to the 185 lb. division, which may or may not be a good choice for him. Personally, I think he would do well in either division. However, I would recommend that he start a good weight training program to put a little more muscle on and increase his overall power.
Hamill on the other hand will do well at 205 and would even do a lot better if he starts becoming more of a multi-dimensional fighter and capitalizes upon his strengths while working to improve upon his weaknesses.
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