Where’s Brian Stann when you need him? Unfortunately for the UFC their uber-patriot of the moment won’t be on the card which is being broadcast live from Fort Hood, Texas and can be seen in the US on Spike TV. Proceeds from the event are being donated to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund which goes to help military personnel who suffered life altering head and/or brain trauma while serving in Afghanistan or Iraq.
It all sounds good but when you look at the card they are using to raise this money you have to wonder if the UFC really has their heart in it. There are athletes on the card worth watching; Evan Dunham, Pat Barry, even the once maligned Matt Mitrione who has erased a lot of the heat that was on him by reeling off three straight wins inside the Octagon. The problem is that they are here placed in lopsided matchups that will make them look good, for sure, but most likely will fail to deliver an entertaining product.
No disrespect but as far as UFC headliners go, free TV or otherwise, this Evan Dunham vs. Melivin Guillard idea is really something of a joke. We all know that originally it was supposed to be Dunham vs. Kenny Florian, a match that at least had some potential to bring in the casual fan, this replacement does not. Things happen, fighters drop out, this is nothing new. What is confusing however is them sticking with that fight as their main event. If you’ll recall the last Fight Night card had a main event that was scrapped due to an injury to Alan Belcher. Demian Maia, who was originally scheduled to fight him, was rebooked against Mario Miranda and then, appropriately removed from the main event.
With this card they should have simply moved the Mark Hominick/George Roop match up to that slot simply on the basis that it carries championship implications with it as Dana White has promised Hominick a title shot against Jose Aldo at UFC 129 if he can slip by Roop.
Roop is an interesting case as he started off on season 8 of The Ultimate Fighter as the house underdog. After earning his way onto the show with his first victory he was picked last but still managed to win his opening round bout. In his next match he suffered a first round submission loss and soon thereafter embarked on a forgettable UFC career. He went 1-2 in the company and was cut after his UFC 101 loss to George Sotiropoulos. He then dropped weight, all the way down to Bantamweight for one fight, and returned to Zuffa this time with the WEC. His luck there wasn’t what you would call stellar either. He lost to Eddie Wineland (no shame there), fought Leonard Garcia to a draw (more than Nam Phan can say), and then racked up one of the most devastating knockouts of last year as he used a whiplash inducing head kick to send the Korean Zombie’s mythology crashing back down to Earth.
Hominick’s rise to the top of the division has happened pretty much by accident. This title shot that he’s trying to hold on to once belonged to Josh Grispi who chucked it away during a 3 round ass whooping he took at the hands of Dustin Poirier. His record isn’t all that great either but he’s been hot as of late, winning four in a row, and the UFC needs to showcase Aldo ASAP. Plus a second Canadian challenger in Toronto on April 30th would be help sellout the massive Rogers Centre.
The rest of the main card leaves something to be desired. Cole Miller takes on Matt Wiman in a lightweight match between two fighters who have compiled impressive records but who never seem ready to take the next step towards a title run. Pat Barry returns for the first time since he broke both his hand and his foot in a submission loss to Mirko Cro Cop this time taking on the always underwhelming Joey Beltran.
Finally there is Matt Mitrione, the laughing stock of season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter who has turned his attitude around and is at least doing a very good job of pretending to be somebody that we should take seriously who is taking on the Canadian Tim Hague. Against all odds Mitrione has rolled over Marcus Jones, Kimbo Slice and the aforementioned Joey Beltran in a Fight of the Night performance. Hague is not somebody to be trifled with. After going on a three fight losing streak he was cut from the UFC roster. He’s since won two fights outside the promotion and is now being given one last chance to leave a good impression. Look for this to be a hard fought contest between two heavyweights looking to stay relevant.
UFC Fight Night 23: Fight for the Troops will be broadcast live on Spike at 9pm EST. Two prelim fights, Cody McKenzie vs. Yves Edwards and Mike Guymon vs. DaMarques Johnson will be shown at 8pm EST on Facebook.com. Join Inside Fights for live coverage of all the night’s action.
