‘I’m just so in awe’… Deaf UFC star shares what it is like hearing for the first time in over 40 years

Former UFC star, Matt Hamill recently moved MMA fans when he revealed he was finally able to hear his Mom’s and children’s voices for the first time ever after using powerful hearing aids.

Matt Hamill made UFC history back in 2006 when he became the first deaf fighter to compete in the UFC Octagon following success on The Ultimate Fighter 3.

‘The Hammer’ went on to have a successful career in the promotion, beating the likes of Tito Ortiz, and of course picking up a controversial win over Jon Jones, being the only man to beat ‘Bones’.

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty ImagesMatt Hamill details what it was like to hear for the first time in over 40 yearsHaving been born deaf, Hamill has gone through life attempting to improve his situation and explained how as a child he used to use a machine that would send him Morse code-like signals.

Despite that, the 48-year-old who retired from MMA in 2018 recently revealed that he celebrated one of his biggest wins ever at the beginning of 2025 when he purchased one of the most powerful hearing aids in the world.

“When I was born, like 1 or 2 years old, I had an old-fashioned box. It was like an AM/FM radio with headphones,” Hamill explained on The Ariel Helwani Show.

“That was the old-fashioned (way) back in the 70’s 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), it’s more like a Morse Code,” Hamill continued.

JONES SNUBBED: Dana White surprisingly snubs Jon Jones as he names top five performances of 2024After purchasing a hearing aid when he was told about it by his manager, Hamill detailed what it was like to finally hear his children for the first time and hearing things he never thought he’d appreciate so much.

“And then I stopped wearing hearing aids until now. My manager goes, ‘Matt, there’s a new model – the latest, most powerful hearing aids ever made.’ I’m like, ‘Ok, why not (try them)?’ I just tried it. So when I put these on, I’m like, ‘Wow.’

“Then I started to listen to my Mom’s voice. I said ‘Mom, I can finally, for the first time, hear your voice.’ And she cried, and she cried. Then I looked at both my kids, they just stared and looked at me. They were crying. They said, ‘Dad.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh man, this is awesome.’ It’s taking some time to adapt (to the change),” Hamill emotionally explained.

Matt Hamill promises violence in a potential rematch against Jon JonesHamill’s aforementioned fight against current UFC heavyweight champion, Jones, is one of the most controversial results in the sport’s history.

After Jones was disqualified for illegal 12-6 elbows, which have since been legalized in the UFC, Hamill was declared the victor and to this day, remains the only fighter to have picked up a win against the consensus greatest of all time.

Following one of the biggest wins of his career outside of the cage, Hamill is keen on a rematch against Jones, promising ‘blood and and broken bones’.

Despite Hamill’s eagerness to once again share the cage with the 37-year-old, it was recently claimed by Joe Rogan that Jones is once again considering retirement.