(Yancy Medeiros shows Rustam Khabilov his dislocated thumb in suspiciously chill fashion at UFC 159. / Photo via Getty)
Marijuana Day continues on CagePotato with another piece of weed-related bad news: MMAJunkie reported this morning that UFC lightweight Yancy Medeiros tested positive for marijuana metabolites following his first-round knockout win against Yves Edwards at UFC Fight for the Troops 3 on November 6th. As a result, his win has been changed to a no-contest by the very-reputable sounding Kentucky Boxing and Wrestling Authority. [Ed. note:Can we throw the word “Intercontinental” in there somewhere?]
According to a statement released by the UFC, “[Medeiros] agreed to and served a 90-day suspension retroactive to the event, and must pass a drug test before receiving clearance to compete again.”
So yeah, his suspension’s over already. It’s one of those Matt Riddle-type suspensions where the UFC only tells us about it after the fact — which they can get away with because the failed drug-test happened in a jurisdiction without any transparency — as opposed to the scorched fucking earth punishment that Pat Healy got for popping positive for marijuana in New Jersey.
It seems worth noting that Medeiros is a known associate of the Diaz brothers, who just yesterday posted a video of himself table-topping a dude with Nate. In an April 2013 interview with Sherdog, Medeiros credited the Diazes for changing his diet and work ethic. In other words, he’s a good kid who just fell in with a bad crowd. We’ll update you if/when Yancy releases a statement about the matter.
[Ed. note:Yancy. Love that name.]
(Yancy Medeiros shows Rustam Khabilov his dislocated thumb in suspiciously chill fashion at UFC 159. / Photo via Getty)
Marijuana Day continues on CagePotato with another piece of weed-related bad news: MMAJunkie reported this morning that UFC lightweight Yancy Medeiros tested positive for marijuana metabolites following his first-round knockout win against Yves Edwards at UFC Fight for the Troops 3 on November 6th. As a result, his win has been changed to a no-contest by the very-reputable sounding Kentucky Boxing and Wrestling Authority. [Ed. note:Can we throw the word “Intercontinental” in there somewhere?]
According to a statement released by the UFC, “[Medeiros] agreed to and served a 90-day suspension retroactive to the event, and must pass a drug test before receiving clearance to compete again.”
So yeah, his suspension’s over already. It’s one of those Matt Riddle-type suspensions where the UFC only tells us about it after the fact — which they can get away with because the failed drug-test happened in a jurisdiction without any transparency — as opposed to the scorched fucking earth punishment that Pat Healy got for popping positive for marijuana in New Jersey.
It seems worth noting that Medeiros is a known associate of the Diaz brothers, who just yesterday posted a video of himself table-topping a dude with Nate. In an April 2013 interview with Sherdog, Medeiros credited the Diazes for changing his diet and work ethic. In other words, he’s a good kid who just fell in with a bad crowd. We’ll update you if/when Yancy releases a statement about the matter.
Despite the enthusiastic and supportive Fort Campbell crowd, last night’s Fight for the Troops 3 event began with some bitter defeats for the handful of UFC fighters with military backgrounds. Army Staff Sgt./TUF 16 winner Colton Smith kicked off the main card by tapping to a rear-naked choke from TUF 15 winner Michael Chiesa — which earned Chiesa a $50,000 Submission of the Night bonus — while former Marine Liz Carmouche ate her second UFC defeat in a decision loss to Alexis Davis.
Luckily, Tim Kennedy saved the operation. The Special Forces vet fed off the energy in the room and tagged Rafael Natal with a long left hook that put the Brazilian’s lights out near the end of round 1, and won Kennedy a $50,000 Knockout of the Night bump. As he explained after the fight:
“I had to wait for the crowd to stop cheering because I was afraid to emotionally commit to something and not do it for the right reasons,” he said. “They’re screaming, ‘Ranger up! Ranger up!’ And I want to start throwing overhands and blitz the guy. I was waiting for them to stop, and they didn’t stop. Then they started cheering ‘U-S-A!,’ and ‘Kennedy!,’ and I was like, ‘For the love of God.’
“It had a negative effect on me because I was waiting and apprehensive. If there was any amount of pressure that could be put on a single fighter for a fight, I can’t think of a situation that would be more stressful than this.”
By the way, Kennedy tore his quad in the last week of training camp, but as he told Ariel Helwani later, “There’s no way you’re getting me off this card. They would have had to shoot me. If they had to roll me up with a wheelchair, I would have got in that cage, I didn’t care.”
Check out video of Kennedy’s knockout above, check out full results from the fight card right here, and follow us after the jump for lots more UFC Fight for the Troops 3 video highlights…
Despite the enthusiastic and supportive Fort Campbell crowd, last night’s Fight for the Troops 3 event began with some bitter defeats for the handful of UFC fighters with military backgrounds. Army Staff Sgt./TUF 16 winner Colton Smith kicked off the main card by tapping to a rear-naked choke from TUF 15 winner Michael Chiesa — which earned Chiesa a $50,000 Submission of the Night bonus — while former Marine Liz Carmouche ate her second UFC defeat in a decision loss to Alexis Davis.
Luckily, Tim Kennedy saved the operation. The Special Forces vet fed off the energy in the room and tagged Rafael Natal with a long left hook that put the Brazilian’s lights out near the end of round 1, and won Kennedy a $50,000 Knockout of the Night bump. As he explained after the fight:
“I had to wait for the crowd to stop cheering because I was afraid to emotionally commit to something and not do it for the right reasons,” he said. “They’re screaming, ‘Ranger up! Ranger up!’ And I want to start throwing overhands and blitz the guy. I was waiting for them to stop, and they didn’t stop. Then they started cheering ‘U-S-A!,’ and ‘Kennedy!,’ and I was like, ‘For the love of God.’
“It had a negative effect on me because I was waiting and apprehensive. If there was any amount of pressure that could be put on a single fighter for a fight, I can’t think of a situation that would be more stressful than this.”
By the way, Kennedy tore his quad in the last week of training camp, but as he told Ariel Helwani later, “There’s no way you’re getting me off this card. They would have had to shoot me. If they had to roll me up with a wheelchair, I would have got in that cage, I didn’t care.”
Check out video of Kennedy’s knockout above, check out full results from the fight card right here, and follow us after the jump for lots more UFC Fight for the Troops 3 video highlights…
(Tim Kennedy bum-rushes Rogan and Goldie’s event recap in hilarious fashion. And please, Mike, stop trying to make “The Sniper” happen. It’s not happening.)
(Cuban middleweight Yoel Romero’s just-as-nasty KO of Ronny Markes, also from the main card.)
(Rustam Khabilov shows he’s more than just “that suplex guy,” landing a sweet spinning heel kick to Jorge Masvidal’s neck. Somehow Masvidal recovered and fought on, but Khabilov still won the fight by unanimous decision, pushing his UFC record to 3-0. Both men earned $50,000 Fight of the Night bonuses for their efforts.)
(That’s the easy, confident smile of a guy who knows he could probably call in a drone strike if things aren’t going his way. / Photo via Facebook.com/MMAFighting)
Handling play-by-play for the Fox Sports 1 main card will be our own Matt Kaplan, who will be sticking live results after the jump beginning at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and please shoot your own thoughts into the comments section. #murica
(That’s the easy, confident smile of a guy who knows he could probably call in a drone strike if things aren’t going his way. / Photo via Facebook.com/MMAFighting)
Handling play-by-play for the Fox Sports 1 main card will be our own Matt Kaplan, who will be sticking live results after the jump beginning at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and please shoot your own thoughts into the comments section. #murica
PRELIMINARY CARD RESULTS
– Bobby Green def. James Krause via TKO, 3:30 of round 1 (weird finish)
– Francisco Rivera def. George Roop via TKO, 2:40 of round 2
– Dennis Bermudez def. Steven Siler via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
– Amanda Nunes def. Germaine de Randamie via TKO, 3:36 of round 1
– Lorenz Larkin def. Chris Camozzi via unanimous decision (30-27 x 2, 29-28)
– Yancy Medeiros def. Yves Edwards via KO, 2:47 of round 1
– Seth Baczynski def. Neil Magny via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
– Derek Brunson def. Brian Houston via submission (rear-naked choke), 0:48 of round 1
My brother, currently a U.S. Army Ranger captain stationed in Savannah, GA, used to be at Ft. Campbell with the 101st, so I’ve been anxious to cover this event (and Tim Kennedy, of course). And here we are.
Colton Smith vs Michael Chiesa
Rd. 1: Both men paw tentatively, and Smith opens with an easy roundhouse kick that grazes. Smith kicks higher now. Chiesa kicks, and Smith smiles at him. Chiesa charges in with a punch, and they clinch. Smith gets the takedown, and Chiesa turns towards Smith. Sweep, back control, and body triangle for Chiesa as he goes for the neck. Smith pries Chiesa’s hands away for now, escapes, and takes Chiesa’s back. Chiesa is up, but Smith is all over him. Smith looks to sink in the RNC as Chiesa tries to slam Smith off of him by dropping to the mat. Chiesa is out of the choke for now, but seemed to have taken a lot from Chiesa. Smith still has back control. Chiesa escapes and gets to his feet just seconds before the bell.
Rd 2: Early clinch and Smith has Chiesa against the cage. Smith lands some knees. Chiesa is off the cage and lands some long punches. Again Smith has Chiesa against the cage. Chiesa gets the takedown, takes Smith’s back, and chokes him out. That was an emphatic slam for a takedown, and the finish came seconds later. Looks like Smith was knocked silly by the takedown. Yup; they just replayed it. Chiesa hip tossed Smith onto his head. Nice win for Michael “Maverick” Chiesa.
Winner: Michael Chiesa via submission (rear-naked choke), 1:41 of round 2
Jorge Masvidal vs. Rustam Khabilov
Rd 1: Early jab, faked shot, and beefy overhand right from Khabilov. That was heavy. Masvidal is starting slowly, but throwing hard. Both men look poised. Khabilov keeps changing levels, which seems to be keepi ng Masvidal from opening up. Khabilov misses a big right hook and bounces around calmly. Masvidal, Joe Rogan points out, might want to go back to some leg kicks. Masvidal presses ahead, clinches, and knees Khabilov. Khabilov grabs a single leg, but Masvidal knees and escapes. Masvidal lands a kick to the body. A Masvidal flying knee ends in a brief scramble. Masvidal is catching kicks and landing leg strikes of his own now. Khabilov catches a Masvidal kick and lands an overhand right. The round ends with both men clinching on the cage. Good action so far.
Rd 2: Khabilov looks loose, as does Masvidal. Khabilov is committed to the jab and working off of it. Masvidal is kicking now. Another 1-2 from Khabilov. Masvidal knees from the clinch and gets out before Khabilov gets a real hold of him. Nice left from Masvidal. Khabilov is really looking for that big overhand right off the jab. Again they clinch against the face, where Masvidal is hitting with knees. Masvidal drags Khabilov down and throws ‘bows. Khabilov is up now, and they separate. Khabilov charges in for the double, but Masvidal is staying up. Khabilov is having a hard time keeping Masvidal down. 1-2 from Khabilov, and there’s the horn.
Rd 3: Khabilov throws an early kick upstairs, which Masvidal blocks. Both men trade jabs. Stinging straight right from Masvidal. Spinning back heel kick to the face from Khabilov and Masvidal is down. Khabilov has his back and Masvidal is spinning away. Jeez. They scramble, but Khabilov has back control and looks for the choke. Masvidal hip escapes and seems to have recovered a bit. Wow. They’re back up. Masvidal stuffs a takedown and has Khabilov against the cage. Masvidal tosses Khabilov down, but Khabilov is back up right away. Masvidal tries the same spinning back kick, but Khabilov smothers it and has back control. Masvidal rolls out and goes for Khabilov’s back. They’re up against the cage. They scramble. Masvidal shoots, Khabilov pounds at the body, and there’s the horn. Good fight.
Winner: Rustam Khabilov via unanimous decision (30-27 x 2, 29-28)
Ronny Markes vs. Yoel Romero
Rd 1: Nice inside leg kick from Markes early on. Romero flicks a kick after some feeling out. Markes snatches Romero’s lead leg, gets the takedown, but Romero pops up. Romero lands a hard left hand. Romero kicks at the body, slips, but is back up again before Markes can capitalize. Markes is looking to land the right cross, but Romero is moving fluidly. They clinch, and Markes is on top of Romero in side control. Markes lands some leather and wants the kimura on the left arm. Romero escapes, and they’re up. Straight left from Romero, who’s keeping his hands very high. Another left to the chin from Romero. Markes kicks the body. Markes misses a front head kick and stuffs a takedown. Markes front kicks to the body, but Romero blocks.
Rd 2: Romero pumps his right jab, blocks a head kick from Markes, and stuffs a takedown attempt. Romero kicks at the lead leg. Markes answers with an uppercut that misses. Markes hasn’t answered Romero’s left hand, and Romero muscles Markes to the mat. Markes is up and eats another left. Markes misses with both hands, and there’s the Romero left hand, right down the middle. Heavy kick to the body from Romero. Markes is down and Romero stands over him. The ref stands Markes up. Romero changes levels and lands another hard left. Here comes Markes with punches, but Romero ducks away from each strike. Romero fakes a shot and eats a right from Markes right before the round ends.
Rd 3: Markes comes out swinging, misses the takedown, and wants Romero to follow him to the ground. Nope. Romero answers a Markes left hand with a harder left of his own. Nice body kick from Markes. Romero sticks a left hand to the body of Markes. BAM. Romero drops Markes with a left over the top, follows up with a right hammer fist, and that’s it.
Winner: Yoel Romero via TKO, 1:39 of round 3
Liz Carmouche vs. Alexis Davis
Rd 1: All the ladies in the house say, “Ye-ah.” The lefty Carmouche jabs and kicks early, but Davis defends. Davis jabs and avoids a hard right from Carmouche. Carmouche kicks the lead leg and circles away from Davis’s right hand. Carmouche kicks the inside leg, and Davis counters with a 1-2 that Carmouche blocks. Davis licks low and again fires a 1-2. Davis blocks and overhand right from Carmouche. Davis is landing that inside leg kick, and it seems to be taking a toll on Carmouche, who kicks the outside of the lead leg of Davis. Big right from Carmouche. Both ladies kick at one another’s legs now,Davis kicks low, throws a 1-2, and there’s the horn.
Rd 2: Davis again sets up the 1-2 with the leg kick. Carmouche is kicking low and throwing the right over the top, but Davis is controlling the center of the cage. Hard punch from Carmouche, and Davis is cut. They clinch against the cage, but break subsequently. Davis is bleeding pretty heavily from her left eye brow now. She keeps coming forward though. Carmouche kicks at the body and backs off of the longer Davis. Davis pumps the left jab as Davis pumps the left jab as kicks low. Again Davis kicks the inside of the lead leg really hard. Carmouche’s right leg is definitely bothering her now. Davis catches a Carmouche kick and throws Carmouche down. Davis is in half guard and dropping the shoulder on Carmouche. Davis keeps side control and knees the body with ten seconds left. Carmouche escapes and gets top position, but the round ends before she can get any offense going.
Rd 3: Davis fires the 1-2 and knocks Carmouche down with a hard, low kick to the lead leg. They clinch against the cage; knees from Davis to the body and thighs. Carmouche lands a knee of her own, but Davis has double underhooks. The ref breaks them up and they go back to the center of the cage. Another 1-2 from the bloodied Davis. Carmouche is circling away pretty well, but there go two more hard kicks from Davis. Davis again has Carmouche on the fence and lands an elbow from close quarters. Both women swing and miss in the center of the octagon. Davis is getting her strikes off first, and Carmouche is flat-footed now. Davis keeps kicking and moving ahead. Carmouche lands a short uppercut and a front kick to the body, and that’s the end of the fight.
Winner: Alexis Davis via unanimous decision (30 x 27 x 2, 29-28)
Tim Kennedy vs. Rafael Natal
Rd 1: Kennedy catches a kick from Natal and fires an overhand right. Natal kicks again. And again. Once more. Natal ducks a right hand and lands a jab to Kennedy. Natal pumps the jab, and Kennedy answers with a high kick. A left hand from Natal sneaks through. Natal kicks low, Kennedy high. Natal ducks a right hook and gets a quick takedown, but Kennedy pops up. Natal drops Kennedy with a hard leg kick. Kennedy lands a kick of his own. Kennedy’s left leg is red now. Huge body kick from Kennedy. Kennedy kicks high and misses with the right. Natal kicks low steps back, and throws a spinning back fist. Natal has been switching stances, and Kennedy is staying patient. A monster left hook catches Natal backing up, and he’s down. Kennedy drops some bombs, and that’s it. Natal is out.
Anyone who knows anything about UFCs and MMAs knows that the best fights are never found on the hoity-toity main card or even the highfalutin FX undercard on a channel that takes two of your friends a TV guide and Encarta ’97 to find. No, it’s a well known fact amongst us MMA media types that the best fights *always* go down during the Facebook preliminaries. “That’s where the real action is,” Ariel Helwani once told me, Danga, while pointing to the champagne room of a Tijuana strip club called La Mula Triste, but I think his words of wisdom can be applied to FB prelims as well.
Anyways, I just took a popper and feel like drunkblogging my way through the Fight for the Troops 3: Kennedy vs. Natal because there’s fuck all to write about besides. In my apartment I have: A bottle of Beam, a 12-pack of Lagunitas IPA, a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, and a nip of Svedka, so lets do this!
(Just a typical 5 p.m. in the life of Danga.)
Anyone who knows anything about UFCs and MMAs knows that the best fights are never found on the hoity-toity main card or even the highfalutin FX undercard on a channel that takes two of your friends a TV guide and Encarta ’97 to find. No, it’s a well known fact amongst us MMA media types that the best fights *always* go down during the Facebook preliminaries. “That’s where the real action is,” Ariel Helwani once told me, Danga, while pointing to the champagne room of a Tijuana strip club called La Mula Triste, but I think his words of wisdom can be applied to FB prelims as well.
Anyways, I just took a popper and feel like drunkblogging my way through the Fight for the Troops 3: Kennedy vs. Natal because there’s fuck all to write about besides. In my apartment I have: A bottle of Beam, a 12-pack of Lagunitas IPA, a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, and a nip of Svedka, so lets do this!
Derek Brunson vs. Brian Houston
Round 1: Fight for the Troops cards are notoriously violent so let’s see how this goes-HOLY SHIT! Brunson nails Houston with a picture perfect roundhouse to the dome and follows him to the mat where, after a little struggle, he finishes Houston off with a rear-naked choke.
Brunson def. Houston via rear-naked choke 0:48 of round 1.
And the bottle of Beam is open.
Jesus, that was so fast I wasn’t even able to explain the rules of the drinking game I will be playing for these prelims. They are as follows:
Additionally, I will take a swig for each Goldberganism, each Rogan freak out and each time the name “Yancy” is spoken. Yancy.
Neil Magny vs. Seth Baczynski
Round 1: Baczynski with a pair of leg kicks and a nice right to start. Fuck that name, I’m calling him Bski. Bski pushes Magny into the fence. Big John McCarthy separates the two after a minute and Bski fires off an overhand right that lands. Magny clinches and they battle for position before BJ separates them again. Bski snags a double and slams Magny to the mat but gets hit with a good shot from the bottom. Bski to half guard then full mount, landing a few body shots before the bell ends. 10-9 Bski.
Round 2: Man, this crowd is fired up. They’re treating every landed punch like an ultimate diss in a Yo Momma episode. Remember that show? God it was terrible. Anyways, the first minute and a half of this one is all clinch before Big John separates them. Bski lands another nice right hand and tries for a takedown but is reversed and were back to a clinch battle. Magny with a right. Bski dives for another takedown but appears to be fading. Big John calls for a time as Magny’s glove tap is loose. Bski gets his takedown on the restart. After landing a couple elbows, Bski moves to half guard and lands some elbows as the rounds ends. 10-9 Bski
The soldiers are literally counting down the final five seconds of each round in unison. SHould a fight end via spinning heel kick, I’m quite certain the roof will ‘splode. Anyways, I just ripped another popper because fuck you.
Round 3: Magny lands a right and the two clinch up. Knees to the midsection from Bski. They break briefly and Bski goes for another takedown. He gets Magny down for a second before he is reversed. Magny with some nice knees now. Big John breaks ‘em up and Bski with another nice takedown. Joe Rogan is really impressed with Magny’s hand strength, so I’ll call it a half freak out and take a swig of some wine. The two get back to their feet and Magny lands a big takedown but Bski pops back up. Magny unloading with some nice shots and snags another takedown. Bski gets to his feet and the two swing to the finish. 10-9 Magny
Seth Baczynski def. Neil Magny via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Yves Edwards vs. Yancy Medeiros
Oh boy, they’ve already said Yancy twice. This fight is going to be rough on my liver. Three times. CURSE YOU YANCY!!!!
Yves Edwards’ walkout music sounds like Shaggy is being rectally force fed a steel drum.
Round 1: Yancy comes out aggro for a guy named Yancy, trading low/body kicks with Edwards. Left hook Yancy. Body kick Yves. Edwards with a nice left hook. Yancy is throwing front kicks and Yves is answering with right hooks. Yancy tells Edwards to bring it and Edwards does with a few more rights. Out of nowhere, Yancy clips Yves with an uppercut and pounds him out for the victory. Son of a bitch, Yancy.
Yancy Medeiros def. Yves Edwards via KO at 2:47 of round 1
Well, there goes the nip of Svedka. Ditto for Yves’ UFC career, one would assume, as that’s three straight for the longtime vet. At this time, I’d like to personally thank Yves for a ridiculously entertaining caree-APACHE HELICOPTER SHOT. Drink drink!
Chris Camozzi vs. Lorenz Larkin
Chris Camozzi looks like a guy who knows where that good crystal is at, know what I’m saying? Larkin, on the other hand, is coming out to James Brown’s “Living in America” which makes me think that he is going to get beat to death in this fight. THROW IN THE TOWEL, ROCK!
Round 1: Herb Dean is our ref, which reminds me that I need to re-up with my weed guy. Inside leg kick Camozzi. The two trade front kicks, then oblique kicks like a couple ‘a pussies. Counter left from a retreating Larking, then a straight right that drops him! Camozzi recovers and is back up and lands a leg kick. Front kick to the body by Larkin. Inside leg kick Camozzi, who is getting off first. Flying knee Camozzi and a left hook. I’m not scoring this because I stopped paying attention to pack a binger halfway through this.
Round 2: Camozzi with some more leg kicks. Larkin appears to be aiming for Camozzi’s gloves like he is hitting mits. Nice straight right by Larkin that jacks back the head of Camozzi. Camozzi tries another flying knee and they clinch. Larkin with a weak leg kick on the break. Camozzi’s nose is bloodied up but they trade leg kicks. Nice left by Camozzi. Larkin cuts Camozzi with a left and they clinch again. A couple nice standing elbows from Larkin have really busted up Camozzi, who simply will not stop coming forward. Probably on account of the meth. 10-9 Larkin
Round 3: The two trade body kicks to start the round. Larkin with a nice jab and the two trade leg kicks. Huge right hand by Larkin, who is just the quicker man. Camozzi whifs a head kick. Camozzi is visibly worn down but refuses to quit. Some brutal elbows and rights from Larkin in the clinch. Camozzi has Larkin pinned against the fence and Larkin lands some more elbows. My God this crowd is awesome, and Camozzi cheers them on while getting beat up in the clinch. I’ll have what he’s having, amiright? *crickets* Larkin lands some spinning shit to close things out and that’s all she wrote. 10-9 Larkin
Lorenz Larkin def. Chris Camozzi via unanimous decision (30-27 x2 29-28)
Well, that’s it for me, Nation. I’m going to go take a piss off the balcony and yell at stray cats. Enjoy your fancy FS1 fights you bunch ‘a bitches.
Matthew 7:7 states, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” The MMA career of Tim Kennedy, however, states, “Ask and all will be taken away from you and maybe replaced with something inferior.” Indeed, the extent to which Kennedy has been continuously screwed out of opportunities to fight upper level opponents is nothing short of bewildering. If it wasn’t his active military status nullifying his ability to secure a fight, it was Strikeforce’s inept matchmaking department or all the scared little bitches that made up their middleweight roster. And even when Kennedy was able to book a fight, his opponents were usually traded in and out like sex slaves at an Albanian brothel.
Most recently, Kennedy was finally given a shot at the big time when he was booked to welcome Lyoto Machida to the middleweight division in the main event of Fight For the Troops 3. That was until Michael Bisping injured his eye and was replaced by Machida against Mark Munoz. So what did Kennedy do in response? Call out every fighter in the middleweight division, the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions, the women’s division, and various members of the MMA media via Twitter, of course.
Fortunately for Kennedy, the UFC was finally able to meet his “terrorist demands” and book him an opponent for the November card. Unfortunately for Kennedy, it’s the only guy he neglected call out on Twitter (Ed note: Nevermind, turns out he called out Natal as well). Kennedy will now face Rafael “Sapo” Natal in what has to be the least intriguing main event matchup since Arlovski vs. Eilers at UFC 53. Hip hip hooray?
Matthew 7:7 states, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” The MMA career of Tim Kennedy, however, states, “Ask and all will be taken away from you and maybe replaced with something inferior.” Indeed, the extent to which Kennedy has been continuously screwed out of opportunities to fight upper level opponents is nothing short of bewildering. If it wasn’t his active military status nullifying his ability to secure a fight, it was Strikeforce’s inept matchmaking department or all the scared little bitches that made up their middleweight roster. And even when Kennedy was able to book a fight, his opponents were usually traded in and out like sex slaves at an Albanian brothel.
Most recently, Kennedy was finally given a shot at the big time when he was booked to welcome Lyoto Machida to the middleweight division in the main event of Fight For the Troops 3. That was until Michael Bisping injured his eye and was replaced by Machida against Mark Munoz. So what did Kennedy do in response? Call out every fighter in the middleweight division, the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions, the women’s division, and various members of the MMA media via Twitter, of course.
Fortunately for Kennedy, the UFC was finally able to meet his “terrorist demands” and book him an opponent for the November card. Unfortunately for Kennedy, it’s the only guy he neglected call out on Twitter (Ed note: Nevermind, turns out he called out Natal as well). Kennedy will now face Rafael “Sapo” Natal in what has to be the least intriguing main event matchup since Arlovski vs. Eilers at UFC 53. Hip hip hooray?
To be fair, Natal is currently riding a three-fight win streak including a Fight of the Night-earning defeat of Tor Troeng in an absolute slugfest at Fight Night: Teixeira vs. Bader, so maybe this fight won’t be as terrible as we initially thought. To be completely unfair, Natal is a guy who couldn’t be picked out of a random lineup of Brazilian fighters by most casual MMA fans. We’ll give him credit for stepping up, though.
Kennedy, on the other hand, is coming off a tepid unanimous decision victory over Roger Gracie at UFC 162 in his promotional debut. If he’s hoping to book a big name (or any name, really) in the near future, one would think that he will be looking to finish his short-notice opponent impressively come November 6th.
(Look, you’re either with us or against us. / Colton Smith photo via kimurawear.com)
UFC officials have confirmed that a lightweight bout between TUF 16 winner Colton Smith (3-2) and TUF 15 winner Michael Chiesa (9-1) has been added to UFC Fight for the Troops 3, November 6th in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. On paper, the matchup might not blow your socks off — Smith is a methodical wrestler coming off a TKO loss to Robert Whittaker at UFC 160, while Chiesa suffered the first loss of his professional career when he was submitted by Jorge Masvidal at UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Moraga. It’s safe to say that title contention won’t be on the line, here.
However, there is some relevance to Colton Smith being booked for the event, as he’s an Army Ranger and an instructor of hand-to-hand Combatives at Fort Hood. Clearly, he’ll play the role of fan-favorite for the military crowd, especially considering that Chiesa looks like a propaganda cartoon making fun of a dirty, draft-dodging pacifist and possible dope-fiend. PUT THE BOOTS TO HIM, COLT.
(Look, you’re either with us or against us. / Colton Smith photo via kimurawear.com)
UFC officials have confirmed that a lightweight bout between TUF 16 winner Colton Smith (3-2) and TUF 15 winner Michael Chiesa (9-1) has been added to UFC Fight for the Troops 3, November 6th in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. On paper, the matchup might not blow your socks off — Smith is a methodical wrestler coming off a TKO loss to Robert Whittaker at UFC 160, while Chiesa suffered the first loss of his professional career when he was submitted by Jorge Masvidal at UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Moraga. It’s safe to say that title contention won’t be on the line, here.
However, there is some relevance to Colton Smith being booked for the event, as he’s an Army Ranger and an instructor of hand-to-hand Combatives at Fort Hood. Clearly, he’ll play the role of fan-favorite for the military crowd, especially considering that Chiesa looks like a propaganda cartoon making fun of a dirty, draft-dodging pacifist and possible dope-fiend. PUT THE BOOTS TO HIM, COLT.
