5 Things You Might Not Know About Anthony Hamilton

Anthony Hamilton turns 42 in a little more than a month, but judging by his actions, he does not feel like riding off into the sunset just yet.

The well-traveled veteran will challenge Rizvan Kuniev for the Eagle Fighting Championship heavyweight title in the EFC 46 co-main event on March 11 at the FLXcast Arena in Miami. Hamilton enters the match having won three of his past four fights. He last competed at EFC 40, where he succumbed to punches from Vladimir Daineko a cool 2:56 into the first round of their Sept. 4 pairing.

As Hamilton makes final preparations for his five-round showdown with Kuniev, here are five things you might not know about him:

1. The mat was his crucible.

Hamilton wrestled at Highline College in Des Moines, Washington, where he earned All-America honors from the National Junior College Athletic Association. Among the school’s other notable alumni: former Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight titleholder Jens Pulver.

2. He was no early bird.

“Freight Train” did not make his professional mixed martial arts debut until the age of 30. Hamilton took a three-round unanimous decision over Kyle Welch at CageSport 12 on Oct. 2, 2010. He went on to win his first six bouts before being knocked out by Walt Harris at a Superior Cage Combat show on Feb. 16, 2012.

3. A few trinkets rest on his mantle.

Hamilton has held titles in the CageSport and Maximum Fighting Championship organizations. He captured the CageSport heavyweight crown when he wrecked Bill Widler with first-round punches at CageSport 22 in December 2012 and laid claim to the Maximum Fighting Championship heavyweight belt when he knocked out Smealinho Rama with a second-round head kick at MFC 38 in October 2013.

4. He tested himself at the highest level.

The Jackson-Wink MMA product spent more than three years in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Hamilton compiled a 3-7 record in the company, his wins over Ruan Potts, Daniel Omielanczuk and Damian Grabowski offset by losses to Alexey Oleynik, Shamil Abdurakhimov, Francis Ngannou, Marcel Fortuna, Daniel Spitz and Adam Wieczorek.

5. His fights have a don’t-blink quality about them.

Five of the 28 bouts on Hamilton’s resume—three victories and two defeats—have ended inside one minute. They include his 14-second knockout of the aforementioned Grabowski at UFC 201 on July 30, 2016. It ranks as the fourth-fastest finish in the history of the UFC heavyweight division, trailing only Todd Duffee-Tim Hague (seven seconds), Jairzinho Rozenstruik-Allen Crowder (nine seconds) and Harris-Oleynik (12 seconds).