First Hand Account Of Fighter Families At TUF Finale

Esther Lin at All Elbows has a heart wrenching account of Matt Hamill’s family at The Ultimate Fighter Finale:

↵↵Matt Hammill’s mother and sister (thanks Juls!) were seated directly behind me, and as Hammill lay on the mat after receiving endless blows, his mother wailed, and I waffled, chickening out of taking a photo of her, as her cries were so loud, other photographers were looking away because the sobs were so incredibly sad to hear. I still hear her and see her in my head, Hammill’s sister holding her, softly saying, “He’s all right, he’s all right,” while UFC staff were coordinating over walkies to find someone to escort her away from the cage.

↵↵We often overlook this aspect of things in MMA, instead simply focusing on the fact that Jon Jones was beating the face off of Hamill. Stories like this are always an interesting reminder of the human element of the fight game.