205 lbs: Matt Hamill vs. Keith Jardine
Odds: (-150 Hamill /+120 Jardine )
Sharing top billing with the Ultimate Fighter finals is a compelling Light Heavyweight matchup between tough wrestler Matt “The Hammer” Hamill and Ultimate Fighter Season 2 alum “The Dean of Mean” Keith Jardine. Jardine is the more well-rounded of the two by far, but Hamill’s wrestling is better than any part of Jardine’s game, so this is an interesting stylistic matchup.
Keith Jardine is the proverbial jack of all trades but master of none. He has solid wrestling, good submissions, and punishing standup, but is not world class at any of those things. His standup is technical and accurate, but he lacks the finishing power of other top strikers, and while his wrestling and submissions are quality, he uses them more defensively rather than imposing his will on opponents. The other side of that coin, of course, is that Jardine doesn’t have any huge glaring holes in his game, either, which can make a huge amount of difference.
Unlike Jardine, Matt Hamill definitely has a specialty, and that is wrestling. His standup is still a work in progress, although he is not totally inept, and he doesn’t have much in the way of a submission atack. What he does have is a brutal, driving double leg takedown, smothering top control, and the ability to dole out a large amount of punishment from top position.
Jardine, who enters this fight on a tough three-fight losing streak, is going to have his hands full yet again. While he can easily outbox Hamill, he has absolutely no answer for Hamill’s dominant wrestling game, and he is going to find himself firmly planted on his back for the majority of this fight. Jardine is a tough guy, so expect him to hang around, but Hamill takes this one with a lopsided unanimous decision.
Prediction: Matt “The Hammer” Hamill via Unanimous Decision.
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