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Brandon Thatch vs. Stephen Thompson Set for UFC Fight Night 60 Main Event

The Ruckus is coming for the Wonderboy.
In a bout sure to bring fireworks, muay thai wrecking machine Brandon “Ruckus” Thatch will now face off with karate and kickboxing prodigy Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson in the main event of UFC Fight Night 60.
Tha…

The Ruckus is coming for the Wonderboy.

In a bout sure to bring fireworks, muay thai wrecking machine Brandon “Ruckus” Thatch will now face off with karate and kickboxing prodigy Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson in the main event of UFC Fight Night 60.

That’s according to a Tuesday evening report from Thomas Gerbasi of UFC.com. The move also was announced on Twitter by UFC PR honcho Dave Sholler:

Breaking News: @WonderboyMMA vs. @RUKUSMMA303 new main in Broomfield. @JohnyHendricks vs. @IamTheImmortal in Dallas. http://t.co/SvK1ZDIC7q

— Dave Sholler (@Sholler_UFC) January 13, 2015

Originally, the event, set to take place February 14 in Broomfield, Colorado, was set to be headlined by another welterweight bout: Matt Brown vs. Tarec Saffiedine.

However, those plans went awry recently when Saffiedine suffered a groin injury and was forced to withdraw. Then, also on Tuesday, UFC officials announced that Brown would instead take on Johny Hendricks at UFC 185.

It is unclear when Saffiedine will return to action.

Though it is not as high profile as the original main event, Thatch vs. Thompson holds plenty of its own intrigue. The 29-year-old Thatch (11-1) has cut a big swath in a short time with the UFC. In two fights since joining in August 2013, he has scored a first-round knockout, which earned him a post-fight bonus from the UFC, and a first-round submission victory when veteran Paulo Thiago tapped to strikes.

Thatch’s momentum was derailed, however, when he injured his toe and sat out for more than a year. This will be Thatch’s first bout since sustaining the injury, and it comes in front of a hometown crowd for the Colorado native.

Meanwhile, Thompson (10-1) is 6-1 under the UFC banner and currently riding a four-fight win streak. The 31-year-old South Carolina native, who won a slew of national and international honors as a kickboxer, has scored a TKO victory in two of his last three contests.

Therefore, it stands to reason that neither of these men will want to go to the ground and that a knockout will be in the offing in this main event.

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Barnburner Alert: Welterweight Prospects Brandon Thatch and Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson to Collide at Fight Night Broomfield

(Thatch awakens from a rage blackout to find that he has claimed yet another victim. Photo via Getty.)

A matchup between highly-skilled welterweight strikers Brandon Thatch and Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson has been booked for the UFC’s return to Colorado on February 14th, reports UFC.com.

The 29-year-old Thatch has made quite an impression in just 2 UFC performances, stopping veterans Justin Edwards and Paulo Thiago with strikes in a combined total of less than 4 minutes. Another fun fact about Thatch: He has stopped 11 out of his 12 opponents inside the first round, and 3 in less than 20 seconds. Got. Damn.

Thatch has also shown a willingness to take a shot to give one, however, which might not be the best strategy against a striker of Wonderboy’s caliber. Now 5-1 in the UFC and riding a 4-fight win streak, Thompson has looked almost untouchable in the octagon as of late, thanks in no small part to his wealth of kickboxing experience — 37 amateur and 20 professional matches, with 28 wins coming by knockout.

Predictions, please.

Random aside: Does anyone else miss the days when the UFC used to name each card? Numbering Fight Night cards make sense, sure, (and sounds a lot cooler than “Fight Night Broomfield”), but a return to naming the big cards would add a touch of flare to what many consider a continuously monotonous product. It would help each event stand out from the previous one, at the very least, and would occasionally make for some unintentionally hilarious results. And don’t even act like you wouldn’t be a *little* more excited for UFC 189: Battle in the Bayou 2 — Electric Boogaloo than Johnson vs. Stevenson, or whatever.

–J. Jones

(Thatch awakens from a rage blackout to find that he has claimed yet another victim. Photo via Getty.)

A matchup between highly-skilled welterweight strikers Brandon Thatch and Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson has been booked for the UFC’s return to Colorado on February 14th, reports UFC.com.

Thatch has also shown a willingness to take a shot to give one, however, which might not be the best strategy against a striker of Wonderboy’s caliber. Now 5-1 in the UFC and riding a 4-fight win streak, Thompson has looked almost untouchable in the octagon as of late, thanks in no small part to his wealth of kickboxing experience – 37 amateur and 20 professional matches, with 28 wins coming by knockout.

Predictions, please.

–J. Jones

Brandon Thatch Suffers Broken Toe, Pulled from UFC Fight with Jordan Mein

Brandon “Rukus” Thatch has not stepped into the Octagon since November 2013. Now, he’s going to have to wait even longer as his badly broken toe heals.
On Saturday, Rukus revealed via Twitter that he had sustained a gruesome compound fracture and has b…

Brandon “Rukus” Thatch has not stepped into the Octagon since November 2013. Now, he’s going to have to wait even longer as his badly broken toe heals.

On Saturday, Rukus revealed via Twitter that he had sustained a gruesome compound fracture and has been removed from his scheduled contest with Jordan Mein. (Note: Click on the image below to view the graphic trauma.)

I’m bummed to say I have to pull out of my fight against Jordan Mein. I compound fractured my toe yesterday pic.twitter.com/6jhh05L8Yp

— Brandon Thatch (@RUKUSMMA303) August 2, 2014

A timetable for Thatch’s return has obviously not been revealed at this point, but the severity of the injury would appear likely to keep him out of action for at least a couple of more months. With a 2-0 UFC record, Thatch is a very talented up-and-comer in the welterweight division. However, at 29 years old, he’s in his prime and will now likely lose more than one year of competition due to injury problems.

The previously booked bout between Thatch and Mein was supposed to launch the winner into 170-pound title contention. Now, both fighters will likely have to wait to break through to the next level.

Mein could still compete at UFC Fight Night 49: Henderson vs. Dos Anjos, which will be held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on August 23. However, with only three weeks for a replacement opponent to be secured, Mein probably isn’t going to meet an adversary who could push him into the Top 15 rankings.

With knockout wins over Justin Edwards and Paulo Thiago within three months, Thatch had a ton of momentum going to close 2013. Now, the talented welterweight, who has huge potential, will have to work to start a whole new push when he finally gets and stays healthy.

Thatch is an incredibly entertaining fighter to watch and was gaining a strong fan following, so here’s hoping he heals up quickly and shakes the injury bug moving forward.

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Thiago Alves Out, Brandon Thatch in vs. Jordan Mein at UFC Fight Night 49

Thiago Alves’ extensive injury log received a new entry Wednesday, as the UFC welterweight has been forced out of his UFC Fight Night 49 matchup with Jordan Mein.
UFC.com issued a statement saying that rising welterweight contender Brandon …

Thiago Alves‘ extensive injury log received a new entry Wednesday, as the UFC welterweight has been forced out of his UFC Fight Night 49 matchup with Jordan Mein.

UFC.com issued a statement saying that rising welterweight contender Brandon Thatch would replace Alves in the bout.

MMA Junkie’s Steven Marrocco reported the nature of Alves‘ complication, saying that “The Pitbull” suffered a knee injury but will not require surgery.

That silver lining loses some luster with Alves though, as the former 170-pound title challenger underwent four surgeries in 2013 and only recently broke out of a two-year hiatus to face Seth Baczynski at UFC on Fox 11.

After so much recovery time and sustained periods of inactivity, it looked like Alves was finally back to action, but another injury has sidelined “The Pitbull” once again.

Thankfully, Alves‘ replacement, Brandon Thatch, is a proven knockout artist and one of the hottest prospects in the division.

In scheduling Thatch vs. Mein, another polished striker, the UFC capably salvaged this matchup and potentially even upgraded it by substituting Thatch for the injured Alves.

While Thatch does not boast the resume of Alves, his attack is every bit as exciting, and his knockout power is fearsome. “Rukus” destroyed Justin Edwards and Paulo Thiago via knockout so far in his UFC run, needing a combined three minutes and 33 seconds of action to do so. He’s on a 10-fight winning streak, and a win over Mein will elevate his stock and push him toward the top 10 of the division.

UFC Fight Night 49 takes place August 23 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and is headlined by a lightweight showdown between Benson Henderson and Rafael dos Anjos. For a complete list of confirmed bouts, click here.

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Surprising Re-Up of the Day: Paulo Thiago Inks Four Fight Extension Despite 2-6 Slump

(Photo via Getty.)

It’s been a rough couple of years for Brazilian special forces officer turned MMA fighter Paulo Thiago. Actually, make that a rough half decade or so. After kicking off his UFC career with an improbable knockout of Josh Koscheck and wins over Jacob Volkmann and Mike Swick, Thiago has dropped six of his past eight contests since 2010, including decision losses to Diego Sanchez and Dong Hyun Kim and brutal stoppage losses to Siyar Bahadurzada and Brandon Thatch. Most recently, Thiago was outpointed by Gasan Umalatov at the TUF Brazil 3 Finale, leading us to believe that he would likely be headed for the door.

And what a shame it would have been to see him go, for his superhero-esque background and aforementioned blistering of Koscheck made Thiago a fighter to watch in many a fan’s eyes, despite the fact that he was never really able to live up to the hype generated by his impressive UFC debut. As luck would have it, however, it appears that we haven’t seen the last of Thiago, who recently informed MMAFighting that he had signed a four fight extension with the UFC despite his recent skid:

I was cool, but anxious because all of the recent cuts they did. I wasn’t that tense. Whatever they decided, I would be cool.

Yes, you *would* be cool, Paulo. Engaging in machine gun battles with drug cartels for your day job earns you that right.

(Photo via Getty.)

I was cool, but anxious because all of the recent cuts they did. I wasn’t that tense. Whatever they decided, I would be cool.

Yes, you *would* be cool, Paulo. Engaging in machine gun battles with drug cartels for your day job earns you that right.

Thiago’s only two wins since 2010 have come over UFC washout David Mitchell and Michael Prazeres, who has since dropped to lightweight. However, with the UFC holding their first ever Fight Night event in Thiago’s native Brasilia in September, the BOPE officer feels confident that he would be able to deliver the exciting win he has been seeking for years now.

In the meantime, Thiago has been quietly serving as riot-buster at this year’s World Cup, although if he is to believed, things have been relatively docile thus far.

It’s really calm and peaceful. Today was the second match in Brasilia and I worked on both. It’s a beautiful party, lots of different cultures gathering together. I just heard that there was like 50 thousand Colombians for today’s game. Last week, there were a lot of Swiss and Ecuadorians. It’s really peaceful, everybody having a good time. No riots at all.

So you’re telling me that you’ve combined 50,000 Columbians with lord knows how many Brazilians and there hasn’t been one brawl involving a 2×4 and a gang stomping yet? I respectfully call bullshit, Mr. Thiago.

We’ve thrown a video of Thiago’s knockout of Koscheck below, because relevant.

–J. Jones