Anthony Hamilton (fighter)  Anthony Hamilton (born April 14, 1980) is an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2010, Hamilton has also formerly competed for the UFC, MFC, and was the MFC inaugural Heavyweight Champion. Originally from Kent, Washington, Hamilton competed in wrestling and football growing up, graduating from Kentwood High School, then attending Highline College, where he earned NJCAA All-American honors in wrestling. He later attended Central Washington University. Hamilton went undefeated during his amateur career (4-0) before turning professional in October 2010. Prior to signing with the UFC, Hamilton competed for the Maximum Fighting Championship, claiming their inaugural heavyweight championship after defeating Smealinho Rama at MFC 38: Behind Enemy Lines on October 4, 2013. He defended the title once by defeating "" contestant Darrill Schoonover at MFC 39: No Remorse on January 17, 2014. Hamilton signed with the UFC in early 2014. In his promotional debut, Hamilton faced Alexey Oleynik at . He lost the fight via neck crank submission in the first round. In his second appearance, Hamilton faced Ruan Potts at UFC 177 on August 30, 2014. He won the fight via TKO in the second round. Hamilton next faced Todd Duffee at UFC 181 on December 6, 2014. He lost the fight via KO in the first round. Hamilton faced Daniel Omielańczuk on April 11, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 64. Hamilton won the fight by unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, and 29–27). Hamilton was expected to face Derrick Lewis on October 3, 2015 at UFC 192. However, Hamilton was pulled from the fight and replaced by Viktor Pešta. In turn, Hamilton was rescheduled to face Mirko Filipović on November 28, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 79. However on November 10, it was announced that Filipović had pulled out of the fight and abruptly announced his retirement. Subsequently, UFC officials removed Hamilton from the card and announced that he would be rescheduled for another event. Hamilton faced Shamil Abdurakhimov on February 21, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 83. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Hamilton faced Damian Grabowski on July 30, 2016 at UFC 201. He won the fight via knockout just 14 seconds into the first round. Hamilton faced Francis Ngannou on December 9, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 102. He lost the fight via submission in the first round.