LAS VEGAS - Former light-heavyweight champion Quinton (Rampage) Jackson battered Matt (The Hammer) Hamill en route to a unanimous decision at UFC 130 on Saturday night.
Hamill, whose inspirational story of success as a deaf athlete is the subject of the film "Hamill" due out this fall, had no answer for Jackson's power. His takedowns were easily rebuffed and he lost the striking battle in a lacklustre finale to a disappointing mixed martial arts card.
All three judges scored it 30-27 for Jackson after a fight that drew boos.
"That guy can take a punch. I hit him with everything but the toilet," said Jackson, who revealed he had a broken hand.
Still, he only gave himself a five out of 10 when asked to rate his performance.
UFC president Dana White was also not impressed, saying Jackson had gassed out during the fight.
In the co-main event before 12,816 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, former heavyweight champion Frank Mir dominated Roy (Big Country) Nelson in a unanimous 30-27, 30-27, 30-26 decision.
The main event was to have been lightweight champion Frankie (The Answer) Edgar against Gray Maynard, but both men were injured in the leadup to the fight.
Hamill, who replaced Thiago Silva after the big Brazilian was derailed by a positive drug test, came out to the Rolling Stones' "Can't You Hear Me Knocking." Jackson (32-8) followed, wearing his trademark chain and scowl, pausing to howl at the crowd.
Hamill tried a takedown and some kicks early, only to be wobbled by an uppercut. Jackson kept coming forward, stuffing at least three takedown attempts in the round. Hamill was bloodied and looking lost as the round ended. Jackson also had a cut over his eye.
In the second, Jackson made Hamill pay for every failed takedown attempt. There were boos from the crowd midway through the round.
Hamill (11-3) seemed out of ideas in the third. Jackson stood with his hands on his hips at one point, as if to say is that all you've got. The boos only got louder.
"I wasn't really happy with my performance," said Hamill. "I did all I could but Rampage is a pretty good fighter ... I will come back again."
The co-main event was a study in the different ways the human body can carry 260 pounds, with a buffed Mir in stark contrast to the roly-poly, mullet-wearing Nelson.
The two butted at the fence like giant mountain goats in the first round, with Mir landing some good knees. He also used a nifty trip to send Nelson flying.
Mir (15-5) varied his attacks and Nelson looked spent after two rounds. Mir dumped him on the ground three times in the third and wore on him some more with heavy elbows. Nelson (16-6) never quit, however, and fought his way to his feet each time.
The two Las Vegas natives, both exhausted, hugged at the final bell.
"His wrestling was something I wasn't expecting and I just got tired," said Nelson.
Mir went to the hospital later for a fractured jaw and rib. And White later lambasted both Mir and Nelson for what he called a "sloppy" performance.
It was a good night for middleweight Brian (All American) Stann, who dominated Jorge Santiago en route to an impressive second-round TKO despite a broken thumb.
The former marine captain, who asked to fight on Memorial Day, had too much power for the American-based Brazilian who had gone 11-1 since a 1-2 stint in the UFC in 2006.
Stann (11-3) chopped away at Santiago (23-9) with kicks in the first round and then dropped him with a looping left. He pounded away from top position but was unable to finish him.
Stann punished Santiago in the second with a leg kick to the body and then put him down with an overhand right, finishing him off with six straight blows from above for the TKO at 4:29 of the round. The crowd chanted "U-S-A!" as an emotional Stann, on his knees, put his face to the canvas after the win.
"It means so much to win today," said Stann, awarded a Silver Star for heroism while deployed in Iraq in 2005. "There are people who aren't here anymore. They are the true heroes."
The two each got a US$70,000 bonus for fight of the night.
Travis (Hapa) Browne knocked out Dutch heavyweight Stefan (Skyscraper) Struve with a devastating Superman punch at 4:11 of the first round in a battle of the big men.
The six-foot-seven Browne (11-0-1) faked out the six-foot-11 Struve (24-5) with the flying punch, knocking him senseless with a blow that buckled him backwards.
Browne, who has won eight fights in the first round, picked up $70,000 for stoppage of the night.
Welterweight Rick (The Horror) Story ran his win streak to six with a unanimous 29-28 decision over Thiago (Pit Bull) Alves. The crowd booed and a bemused Alves (23-7) put his hands on his hips upon hearing the decision, but the in-your-face Story was the busier fighter in the first two rounds.
Story (13-3) used his wrestling to disrupt Alves' standup game, although he didn't seem to mind mixing it up on his feet as well.
The two went at it to open the third, with the underdog Story holding his own although he tired as the round wore on with Alves taking advantage with his fists. The fight finished with a crowd-pleasing flurry at the fence.
"To be honest, I don't think he won the fight," Alves said.
Alves has lost three of his last four, also dropping decisions to Jon Fitch and Georges St-Pierre.
Demetrious (Mighty Mouse) Johnson (14-1) won a unanimous decision over former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Angel Torres (39-4) in a close, spirited fight contested mainly on the ground.
All three judges scored it 29-28 for the five-foot-three Johnson, giving him the decisive third round, in a decision that was booed by the crowd. The 135-pound contest looked like two brothers wrestling in the backyard with honours going to the little guy.
Torres had won two straight since losing his title to Brian Bowles in August 2009 and a subsequent fight to Joseph Benavidez. Both wins came under the tutelage of Montreal coach Firas Zahabi.
Torres was even introduced as fighting out of Montreal by way of East Chicago, Indiana.
Earlier on a sluggish undercard, Tim (The Barbarian) Boetsch used his wrestling skills to outmuscle Kendall (Da Spyder) Grove and win his debut at middleweight via unanimous 30-27 decision. The six-foot-six Grove was unable to get his game going and is now 2-4 in his last six fights and 7-6 overall in the UFC.
Lightweight Gleison Tibau (33-7) stopped Rafaello Oliveira via rear naked choke at 3:28 of the second round after putting Oliveira (10-4) down with a left uppercut and then hurting him with a big left.
Tibau earned $70,000 for submission of the night.
Brazilian bantamweight Renan Barao (28-1 with one no contest) won a unanimous decision over a game but outgunned Cole Escovedo (17-7) in a matchup of UFC newcomers.
Bantamweight Michael (Mayday) McDonald (13-1), at 20 the youngest fighter in the UFC, looked polished and poised in defeating Chris (Kamikaze) Cariaso (11-3) in what surprisingly was only a split (27-30, 29-28, 29-28) decision.
The judges used ringside monitors for the first time in Nevada, an innovation also slated for use at UFC 131 on June 11 in Vancouver.
Notes: English middleweight Michael (The Count) Bisping and Jason (Mayhem) Miller have been named coaches on Season 14 of "The Ultimate Fighter," which begins filming next month in Las Vegas. The UFC had hoped to pit Bisping against Chael Sonnen, but the California State Athletic Commission prevented that with its disciplinary proceedings against Sonnen in the wake of a positive drug test.
