The Hammer's Homecoming

Matt Hamill is fighting again. This time against Mark Munoz, a former NCAA Division I national champion undefeated in five MMA bouts. This time it's UFC 96 on March 7 - in his home state of Ohio. Hamill is a native of Loveland, 15 miles northeast of Cincinnati and 88 from Columbus, the host of the event. The last time the UFC invaded the Nationwide Arena was March 3, 2007. Hamill's reception equaled, if not exceeded, that of Rich Franklin and Randy Couture as he entered the Octagon en route to a first-round TKO of Rex Holman.

Hamill-Munoz is the lead preliminary bout on a card that features Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Keith Jardine as the main event, but there's no denying the buzz Hamill is already receiving and can expect to receive on March 7. The difference from his previous fights is that this is no longer a feel-good story about the deaf kid doing well. Hamill is 32 years old and fighting in the stacked light-heavyweight division. He's not at the point where he can take Rampage or Jardine, but an impressive win over Munoz will boost his confidence and his case for a title shot before it's too late. Armed with a new six-fight deal with the UFC, Hamill and his camp knows it's now or never.

"I'm very focused right now," Hamill told me yesterday. "My instincts are to destroy and eliminate anyone in my division and move on without any hesitation at all."

Holmes' mission statement going into Hamill's last fight was to destroy Reese Andy. It wasn't exactly a destruction and Hamill looked sluggish at times, but he pounded Andy into submission in the second round. Unlike the time when I wrote Matt Hamill: Raw, Holmes admitted that Hamill is some sort of zone - and it's scary.

"I've never seen him like this," Holmes said.

A reader said it best: "The guy needs a switch. He's tough as nails." Maybe Hamill has finally found it. The key is not turning it off and on like a radio. He shut it down against Rich Franklin and you saw what happened.

By the way, I have a bone to pick with a few other readers who think Hamill has peaked and needs to drop Holmes and enlist with a, um, reputable MMA camp. Members of Hamill's family have read similar sentiments in the past and take exception to it. As great as a Greg Jackson is - and he is one of the best - nobody knows or can communicate with Hamill as well as Holmes, who has been with him since Day 1. He pushed Hamill beyond brutality for the Andy fight in response to the Franklin loss and knows he's not yet at a level where he can hang with the top contenders - and keep in mind he was robbed against Michael Bisping.