Matt Hamill has achieved the biggest win of his life.
A veteran of “The Ultimate Fighter 3,” Hamill made history in his UFC career, becoming the first deaf fighter to compete in the promotion. Now retired, the 48-year-old Octagon veteran celebrated the start of 2025 better than he could’ve possibly hoped. Deaf since birth, Hamill obtained what he called “the most powerful digital hearing aids ever made,” allowing him to hear his children’s voices for the first time.
In a moving appearance on “The Ariel Helwani Show,” “The Hammer” reflected on the remarkable experience.
“When I was born, like one or two years old, I had an old-fashioned box,” Hamill said. “It was like an AM- FM radio with headphones. That was the old-fashioned back in the ’70s. I mean, it was more like an R2-[D2] from “Star Wars” with a heavy box. Until I was like 8 years old, I stopped wearing [it].
“If you said, ‘How are you?’, it was sent to the box. It would jingle with a ‘ta, ta, ta, ta.’ It’s not really actually words like [you’d expect], so it’s more like a morse code. And then I stopped wearing hearing aids until now. My manager, he goes, ‘Matt, there’s a new model — the latest, most powerful hearing aids ever made.’ I’m like, ‘OK, why not?’ I just tried it. So when I put these on, I’m like, ‘Wow.’
“Then I started to listen to my mom’s voice,” he continued. “I said, ‘Mom, I can finally for the first time hear your voice.’ And she cried, and she cried. Then I look at both of my kids, they just stared and looked at me. They were crying. They said, ‘Dad.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh man, this is awesome.’ So it’s taking some time to adapt [to the change].”
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The moment he shared with his mother was an understandably powerful one for Hamill.
Experiencing sound alongside his children has been emotional too, but it’s also brought out fun moments for the whole Hamill family that the former fighter never expected he’d be able to enjoy.
“Oh man, it was surreal,” Hamill said of hearing his children’s voices. “I mean, it’s more like, ‘Wow, it’s real.’ I mean, I thought I’m in a dream, you know? I didn’t think it was going to happen. But thanks to all the technology, they made the best hearing aid. I didn’t expect to hear the sound at all.
“I’m just so in awe and thrilled by the sound. I feel like I don’t want to take my hearing aids out and just keep it on. I hear the birds chirping, hear people walking, knocks on the door, and then sometimes my kids hiding in the corner, ‘Dad, dad, dad,’ all that goes down. So the kids were so happy.”
Hamill’s manager is still working on securing a partnership with the hearing aid company before comfortably sharing more details publicly. When readily available, Hamill will be excited to help others and continue inspiring however he can.
In 2006, Hamill joined the UFC roster through “The Ultimate Fighter 3,” competing as a light heavyweight. In hindsight, it’s wild to think about, but Hamill’s Octagon debut against Jesse Forbes was only his second professional bout. He won via first-round knockout and enjoyed a lengthy 21-fight MMA career, with 18 of those bouts coming in the UFC. Hamill never officially hung up his gloves, but hasn’t fought since earning a split decision win over Chris Bircher at Maverick MMA 6 in 2018. His story was adapted into an award-winning 2011 film, “The Hammer.”
While every fighter enters the cage with a team behind them, Hamill did the same — he just couldn’t receive any sort of mid-fight advice from them throughout his career.
The overall sound experience thus far has been the surprise of a lifetime for the Ohioan.
“It was unexpected,” Hamill said. “I didn’t think I would ever hear for the rest of my life. I would never hear sound for the rest of my life. Let me tell you something — I mean, everyone thought that I could hear because the way I look at them all. No, I’m really born deaf. I can’t hear nothing without hearing aids. I can’t hear airplanes going by. Even the coaches in the corner, they go, ‘Hammer, put your hands up.’ And I say I can’t hear nothing. Even the 40,000 to 50,000 people [in the arena] screaming, just scream, scream — I can’t hear nothing. I just look at them. I give them thumbs up.
“That was a good benefit for me because I can focus easy. I don’t get nervous [from the crowds]. But the downfall is I can’t hear the coach in the corner. Bottom line is I’m just happy with what I have right now and I’m really thankful and grateful of the manufacturer of the hearing aid.”
Fighting is in the Hamill family’s blood. A former standout at 205 pounds with a strong wrestling background, Hamill is still working closely within combat sports, helping to train wrestling in his hometown of Loveland. Hamill’s daughter wrestled until sixth grade and his son is still participating. Meanwhile, his nephew, Liam Hamill, has begun an MMA career, following in his footsteps.
The 23-year-old welterweight prospect is 1-0 as a pro, and Hamill sees a bright future ahead for him.
Still training when he can, Hamill continues to be surprised by specific hearing experiences. In the gym, the thuds of fists crashing into pads and heavy bags were one of his early highlights with his new senses.
“I hear a punching on the bag, and I was like, ‘What’s that?’ Then I look around, and I saw my nephew Liam,” Hamill said. “He was hitting the bag and I didn’t hear the sound [before that]. The sound from hearing the bag felt like a real strong sound, so that was a first moment that I would never forget. And the parts in the bag, and I didn’t think there was any sound [before], but really it does happen when you hit the bag, all the sound is flowing. It comes to my body into my ears, so that was one moment that made it [special].”
