(This photo of Ronny Markes was included to show Paulo Filho in happier times, and the shorts he bought at the Walmart across the street from this event when he realized he left his gym bag at home.)
Over the past twenty-four hours, ‘Fight for the Troops 3′ has seen several bouts added to a card that will be headlined by the middleweight debut of Lyoto Machida. Some of these fights are worth getting excited about (such as the Jorge Masvidal vs. Rustam Khabilov bout), while others, well, the Facebook preliminary card needs something, I guess. The following bouts are also set for the event, loosely arranged in order of how interesting they are on paper.
Nik Lentz vs. Dennis Bermudez – Lentz has been on a tear since dropping to featherweight, having won all three of his fights in the weight class. I guess I should also point out that he’s currently the #8 ranked featherweight in the UFC, in case it matters to anyone reading this. Bermudez, meanwhile, has won four in a row since being armbarred by Diego Brandao during the TUF 14 Finale – including a Fight of the Year candidate and a Submission of the Night earner at UFC 150.
George Roop vs. Francisco Rivera – This bout was originally scheduled for UFC 166, but was moved to this card to make room for Sarah Kaufman vs. Jessica Eye. Some fun facts about this fight: George Roop will be entering a fight riding back-to-back victories for the first time since 2008 for this one, and if Rivera didn’t piss hot after UFC 149, he’d be riding a five fight winning streak. It’s never a smart idea to bet money on a George Roop fight, but I think we’re in for a fun scrap.
Ronny Markes vs. Yoel Romero – Former Olympic wrestler Yoel Romero will look to follow up his devastating UFC debut with an impressive performance against a fighter who is 3-0 in the UFC and hasn’t lost since 2010. Sign me up.
Chris Camozzi vs. Lorenz Larkin – Yeah, I know, both guys are coming off losses. But before accepting a fight against Jacare on short notice, Camozzi was riding a four fight win streak that included victories over at least three guys you’ve heard of. Likewise, you can make the argument that Lorenz Larkin should still be undefeated; his loss against Francis Carmont this past April was debatable, to say the least. It’ll make for a decent midcard fight.
Neil Magny vs. Seth Baczynski – It’s win or go home for both fighters. That should at least provide a dramatic finish to a fight I otherwise wouldn’t be able to care less about.
Colton Smith vs. Michael Chiesa – The two TUF champions you don’t remember (HINT: They won the seasons you didn’t even pretend to watch.) will square off in a bout that you won’t care about for the honor of fighting more bottom-shelf lightweights.
‘Fight for the Troops 3′ will go down on November 6, 2013 in Fort Campbell, Kentucky.