UFC Fight for the Troops 2 Preview

UFC Fight for the Troops preview

On Saturday night, the UFC delivers their third event in tandem with the United States Armed Forces, as UFC: Fight for the Troops 2 comes to you live on Spike TV from Fort Hood, Texas.

The UFC first landed on a U.S. Military base with Fight Night 7, where Diego Sanchez knocked out Joe “Diesel” Riggs in the first round of the main event. In December 2008, the initial Fight for the Troops event took place in Fayetteville, North Carolina and raised more than $4 million for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund during the broadcast.

Though the fight card has undergone some changes since being originally announced, the event still showcases a number of emerging talents looking to keep the ball rolling in the new year.

Mark Hominick, Matt Mitrione and the main event lightweights always deliver exciting fights, and combined with the rest of the fighters on the card, they will make you forget that Mike Swick and “The Korean Zombie” are M.I.A.

Will Campuzano (8-3-0) vs. Chris Cariaso (10-2-0)

Not only is this the kick-off fight of the night, but there is also a good possibility that this one is a “Loser Leaves Town” match as well.

Cariaso lost at WEC 53 just a month ago to Renan Barao, and Campuzano is coming off a submission loss to Nick Pace two weeks earlier at the TUF 12 Finale. With the increased size of the UFC roster, neither of these fighters can afford to put a second straight loss on their resume, so expect these two bantamweights to bring it in full force to start the night.

Campuzano has faced the more name-brand opposition as a result of having the longer tenure with the WEC, but Cariaso brings a better record and the top overall win, his WEC 49 victory over Rafael Rebello. This one should go the distance, as neither have shown a strong history of finishing.

Charlie Brenneman (12-2-0) vs. Amilcar Alves (11-2-0)

Last March, AMA Fight Club product Brenneman debuted with a unanimous decision win over Jason High, running his winning streak to six and setting himself up as a potential prospect in the welterweight division. His status took a hit when Johny Hendricks laid him out at UFC 117, and now the former Pros vs. Joes winner is in need of a rebound win.

Alves lost his opening fight in the organization in August, tapping to a Mike Pierce armbar at UFC 118. Like Brennemen, the Nova Uniao product needs to get back in the win column in this one; despite a solid overall record, an 0-2 start in the UFC doesn’t often allow a third trip to the cage.

What is curious about Alves is that despite holding a black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu, Pierce not only dominated the action on the ground with his wrestling, but secured a straight armbar in the third round to score the win. Brenneman has a similar collegiate wrestling background to Pierce, and while not as thick as the Brave Legion fighter, he could certainly follow the same path to victory here.

Waylon Lowe (9-3-0) vs. Williamy “Chiquerim” Freire (17-3-0)

I know I’m supposed to stay unbiased and that anything can happen, but I feel bad for Lowe here.

The 30-year-old stepped in on short notice against Melvin Guillard in May and got stopped by a big knee in the opening round. While he rebounded with a split decision win over Steve Lopez in his “thanks for helping us out” second bout, he’s getting thrown in here with a dangerous opponent in the debuting Freire.

“Chiquerim” comes into his UFC debut riding an eleven-fight winning streak that spans back to September 2007. In that time, he captured and defended the Shooto 154-pound title, a belt previously held by standouts like Takanori Gomi, Joachim Hansen and Tatsuya Kawajiri.

While the fighters he’s beaten will be unfamiliar to most, rest assured that Freire belongs in the UFC.

Mike Brown (24-7-0) vs. Rani Yahya (15-6-0)

Former featherweight champ Mike Brown steps in for the injured Chang Sung Jung and despite having been the top 145-pound fighter in the world just 15 months ago, a loss here would likely be the end of Brown’s time as a Zuffa employee. That’s intense.

I fail to believe that Brown has suddenly become a mid-level fighter; he was so good against Urijah Faber and showed dominance in defeating Anthony Morrison and Cole Province since losing the belt. At 35, Brown is a little beyond his prime, but having competed on a high level for so long, it’s hard to know if his recent lack of success against top competition is a bump in the road or the start of an extended downhill journey.

Yahya is a tremendous grappler, and the three-straight Submission of the Night awards he earned between WEC 36 and WEC 42 prove that, as does his first-round finish of Mark Hominick in June 2007. That is the positive; the negative is that Yahya is only a tremendous grappler.

Like many BJJ standouts, the rest of Yahya’s offensive tools in the cage are nowhere near his grappling acumen and it has proven to be his downfall when the chips are down. He’s dropped two-in-a-row to opponents who were able to exploit his stand-up game, and the tough-as-nails Brown fits that bill on a normal day; now that he’s back into a corner, this could get messy.

DaMarques Johnson (11-8-0) vs. Mike Guymon (12-4-1)

The recurring theme of fighters in jeopardy of losing their jobs comes up again here, as both Johnson and Guymon enter off losses and need to prove why they should remain among of the welterweight ranks.

In two of his three UFC bouts, Guymon has been submitted in the opening round, first by Rory MacDonald and most recently by Daniel Roberts; in his other appearance, “The Joker” got the better of Fight for the Troops 1 headline Yoshiyuki Yoshida. While getting beyond the first five minutes is far from a guarantee, it will be a good start for the 36-year-old veteran.

I had high hopes for Johnson heading into his bout with Matthew Riddle back in August, but those hopes were dashed even before he hit the Octagon. The TUF 9 finalist failed to make weight and was stopped late in the second round by the his fellow former TUF competitor, halting his modest two-fight winning streak in the process.

Johnson served for the United States Army for eight years and if the chance to collect a victory in front of the men and women at Fort Hood doesn’t bring the best “Darkness” we’ve seen to date into the cage, nothing will.

Cody McKenzie (12-0-0) vs. Yves Edwards (39-16-1)

It still amazes me that Cody McKenzie has earned eleven-straight wins by guillotine and 12 consecutive overall; the former is far more improbable than the latter, but both are pretty impressive.

If he’s to run his winning streak to lucky #13, McKenzie will earn his biggest victory to date, as Yves Edwards is a proven veteran with more than 50 fights under his belt. Though he has 16 losses on his resume, not a single one has come by way of guillotine either.

Edwards has fought some of the top 155-pound talent in the world over his lengthy career, but in recent years, he’s come out on the wrong side of the results in those bouts; his last “big name” win was back in February 2005 when he earned a split decision over Hermes Franca. Since then, the founder of the thug-jitsu fighting style has gone 10-8, though he’s put together a nice 5-1 run over his last six fights.

As confusing and convoluted as that last paragraph may sound, that is what happens when you’re trying to handicap an Edwards fight; you really don’t know what to expect when he steps into the cage, making him the polar opposite of McKenzie.

Cole Miller (17-4-0) vs. Matt Wiman (12-5-0)

The opening bout of the televised card is an intriguing lightweight clash, much like the main event that bookends the trio of tilts in between the two.

Cole Miller has won back-to-back contests and earned a larger profile in the process, both because he’s looked very impressive in those two victories, but also because he’s been calling out guys who don’t finish and gotten called out by Donald Cerrone too.

The proud American Top Team student looked tremendous when he submitted TUF 9 winner Ross Pearson last time out; Miller used his length and improving striking to keep Pearson off-balance and pounced on a rear naked choke when he had the chance early in the second round. He earned a second straight Submission of the Night award in that bout and could certainly make it a hat trick here.

Matt Wiman is one of those guys who perpetually gets forgotten in the murky depths of the lightweight division. Despite having competed with Miller on Season 5 of The Ultimate Fighter and holding a 6-3 record inside the Octagon, the Colorado native is seldom discussed as a challenger in the 155-pound ranks.

Yes, his last fight was stopped early, but that doesn’t change the fact that Wiman has beaten Michihiro Omigawa and Thiago Tavares, and been a part of three Fight of the Night contests in this last five outings. A win here over the emerging Miller would force fans and critics to take notice and push Wiman into the Top 20 within the division.

Pat Barry (5-2-0) vs. Joey Beltran (12-4-0)

This should be all kinds of fun!

Both guys had entertaining performances in their last outings, but ultimate came out on the wrong side of the results; Barry was submitted by his idol Mirko Cro Cop, while Beltran was outscored by Matt Mitrione. The duo should meet in the middle of the Octagon and spend the majority of their time there exchanging power shots, with Barry mixing in an assortment of exceptionally powerful leg kicks.

Beltran has an edge in the grappling department, but that isn’t saying a great deal; Barry has looked out of place on the ground in his two losses, and while “The Mexicutioner” has decent wrestling, he tends to throw far more hands than he shoots for takedowns.

Neither guys should be in jeopardy of getting cut here, as the division is somewhat thin once again and both fighters are engaging personalities outside of the cage. That said, no one wants to have their losing streak extended to start the new year, so we should see some fireworks from these two big boys.

Mark Hominick (19-8-0) vs. George Roop (11-6-1)

Whenever Jose Aldo makes his Octagon debut, the winner of this bout could be the one standing across from him. While no promises have been made, Dana White said a win for Hominick all but assures him of that opportunity, and that decision should motivate both men.

Hominick has looked tremendous since returning to the WEC three fights ago, dominating both Leonard Garcia and Yves Jabouin in that stretch. He seems to have hit his stride as a fighter in the last two years, finally putting it all together with impressive results. “The Machine” has great hands and changes levels exceptionally well, but his talents will be tested by the length of his opponent here.

After washing out of the UFC after a run on Season 8 of The Ultimate Fighter and a 1-2 record through three fights, Roop has shown improvement since finding a home at featherweight. His split draw with Leonard Garcia was iffy at best, and he proved “The Korean Zombie” could be knocked out with a well-timed headkick in his most recent appearance.

Standing six-feet-two-inches tall, Roop will have a six inch height advantage on Hominick, and he’s shown in his last two outings that he knows how to use his size to his advantage. If he can keep Hominick on the end of his lengthy jab, Roop could pull the upset here and potentially force the UFC to consider him as a challenger to Aldo’s featherweight title.

Matt Mitrione (3-0-0) vs. Tim Hague (12-4-0)

After a pair of previous cups of coffee with the UFC, Hague is welcomed back for a third time after earning back-to-back first round knockouts with Aggression MMA in Edmonton. While some will surely discredit Hague’s chances because of his history of releases, the former kindergarten teacher is a quality athlete who has improved in the last year, and quickly choked out Pat Barry in his UFC debut.

Heading into Season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter, no one would have predicted that Mitrione would emerge as an intriguing competitor with an unbeaten record after three fights. Hell, some wouldn’t have predicted Mitrione to last three fights.

The former New York Giant has shown marked improvement through each of his fights, displaying heavy hands, improved kickboxing, and a developing ground game. We learned on TUF 10 that he can take a punch, and he proved that again against Beltran last time out; after getting rocked and losing the opening round, Mitrione rebounded to win the final two frames and the fight.

Don’t be surprised if this bout ends up being an absolute barnburner.

Evan Dunham (11-1-0) vs. Melvin Guillard (26-8-2)

Dunham was supposed to be facing off with perennial contender Kenny Florian, but the MMA Live analyst was forced off the card with an injury. Guillard steps in for Florian and provides a different, but still formidable challenge for the emerging 155-pound contender.

Pretty well everyone thinks that Dunham won his last fight with Sean Sherk; everyone except Sherk of course. The Xtreme Couture student has a black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu, with strong striking and all kinds of heart to go along with it. He smiled and laughed his way through the final two rounds of his fight with Sherk, enjoying the battle as blood ran down his face.

Guillard has won three-straight and six of his last seven, the lone loss coming when he gift-wrapped a guillotine for Nathan Diaz. “The Young Assassin” has shown a great deal of improvement since joining Greg Jackson’s team in Albuquerque. Though he took a more measured approach against Jeremy Stephens, it was the right approach for the once careless TUF 2 competitor and one that he should replicate here.

Dunham is on the cusp of contending and a win here will put him in the mix, while Guillard is a notch below him in the divisional hierarchy. With the logjam at the top of the food chain, both fighters will be waiting their turn for at least the first half of the year, if not longer, but that doesn’t mean we won’t see a great fight from them here.

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