to the liver at 0:39 of the third round. At UFC 92, Hamill defeated Reese Andy in the second round by TKO due to strikes. Hamill fought former NCAA wrestling champion Mark Muñoz at UFC 96, defeating him with a right leg roundhouse kick to the head, knocking Munoz unconscious and earning him the Knockout of the Night award. His next fight was scheduled to be Brandon Vera at UFC 102, but due to a knee injury while training, Hamill was replaced by Krzysztof Soszynski. Coming off of knee surgery, Hamill became sick. Hamill faced off against undefeated prospect Jon Jones on December 5, 2009, at The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Finale. Jones would be disqualified for using illegal 12–6 elbows. The unified rules of mixed martial arts prohibit downward elbow strikes, and Jones was initially only penalized a point from the round. However, because Hamill could not continue due to his dislocated shoulder, he was awarded the DQ win. Consequently, the tape was reviewed and showed that Jones' elbows further damaged Hamill's already bloody and lacerated nose. This marked the first time that Nevada has used its recently enacted instant replay rule, in which the referee's decision was supported by the commission which utilized a slow motion replay to review the elbows. Hamill contested the decision, stating after the fight that he "definitely didn't win" and Jones "definitely didn't lose". Hamill defeated Keith Jardine on June 19, 2010, at The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz Finale. Hamill won this fight by majority decision. Jardine was docked a point for accidentally poking Hamill in the eye in round 2. Hamill next fought his former The Ultimate Fighter 3 coach, Tito Ortiz on October 23, 2010, at UFC 121 which he won via unanimous decision. Hamill was next scheduled to face undefeated Phil Davis at UFC 129. It was then announced that Thiago Silva had failed his UFC 125 post fight drug test, and Hamill was named as his replacement in his bout against former UFC light heavyweight champion and current top contender Quinton Jackson. Hamill lost the fight via a one sided unanimous decision. At UFC 133 Hamill faced off against up and coming Swedish striker Alexander Gustafsson, replacing an injured Vladimir Matyushenko. After an uneventful first round, Gustafsson dropped Hamill in the second with a straight punch followed by an uppercut, subsequently finishing Hamill with punches and elbows