Matt Hamill began the new year with a very special moment.
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Hamill, the first deaf athlete to compete in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship, revealed on social media that
he was able to hear his family for the first time with the
assistance of special digital hearing aids.
“I just got the most powerful digital hearing aids ever made,”
Hamill recently wrote on Instagram. “For the first time in 41
years, I can finally hear my kids’ voices, the sounds of people
walking and laughing. I finally heard my mom’s voice and she cried.
I’m looking forward to hearing my brother Pat’s voice too. I only
hope he doesn’t have a voice like a foghorn. This is awesome,
although I know it will take time to adapt to all of this. Happy
New Year!”
The now 48-year-old Hamill compiled a 13-8 record over the course
of a professional MMA career that began in 2005. He appeared on
Season 3 of the “The Ultimate Fighter” and went on to have a
15-bout tenure in the Las Vegas-based promotion. He’s probably best
known for his controversial disqualification win over Jon Jones at
the “TUF 10” finale, but he also owns truimphs over the likes of
Tim Boetsch, Mark Munoz, Keith Jardine and Tito Ortiz in the
Octagon.
“The Hammer” went 2-3 after exiting the UFC in 2013, fighting for
organizations such as
World Series of Fighting, Venator FC and Combate Americas. His
last appearance came in April 2018, when he took a split decision
over Chris Birchler at Maverick MMA 6. Hamill was also the subject
of a 2010 biopic, which was also entitled “The Hammer.”