The Adobe Flash Player is required to view this multimedia interactive. Get it here.

Cincinnati native in main UFC event

Weather already postponing games for Tuesday, Feb. 9
1:52 p.m.
Area teams remain on boys basketball state poll
2/9/10
Browns release WR Stallworth
2/8/10
Daytona ready for Patrick, but is she ready for it?
2/8/10
Snow disrupts Atlantic 10 games
2/8/10
> More sports headlines

By Dann Stupp, Contributing Writer 9:35 PM Sunday, November 29, 2009

Returning from a knee injury and headlining an event for the first time, Cincinnati native Matt Hamill meets fellow up-and-comer Jon Jones in the main event of the latest Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Saturday.

The light heavyweight contest headlines the Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale, which also features the grand finale of the current season of the UFC’s reality series.

However, to pull in more viewers, UFC officials booked Hamill (7-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) and Jones (9-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) – two fan favorites who are quickly moving up the division’s ladder – for the featured bout.

The event takes place Dec. 5 at the Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas and airs live on Spike TV.

Hamill, a standout wrestler at Loveland High School who also had a successful collegiate career, was scheduled to fight Brandon Vera in August, but a knee injury forced him off the card.

“It was just a meniscus tear,” Hamill’s trainer, Duff Holmes, said. “After three to four weeks, we were good to go.” The Hamill vs. Jones winner could be just a win or two away from a title shot in 2010.

Coleman vs. Couture signed for UFC 109

The first-ever bout between two active UFC Hall of Famers is set now that Ohio State University national wrestling champion and former Olympian Mark Coleman (16-9) and fellow ex-UFC champ Randy Couture (17-10) have signed to meet at UFC 109.

The event takes place Feb. 6 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

Coleman, who still lives in Columbus but spends time training in Las Vegas, upset Stephan Bonnar during his most recent bout.

The July decision victory was Coleman’s first in three-and-a-half years (though he had a two-year layoff from late 2006 to early 2009).

While most fighters enter retirement by their mid-30s, Couture is 46, and Coleman turns 45 in December.

UFC 109 was slated to feature a headliner between UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort. However, Silva recently underwent surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow, and a slow recovery means he won’t be ready for UFC 109.

Couture vs. Coleman could take the top spot if a suitable replacement fight isn’t booked.

Dann Stupp is editor-in-chief of MMAjunkie.com, voted best media outlet in the 2008 World MMA Awards. For the latest mixed-martial-arts news, go to www.mmajunkie.com.

Share this article