(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.
(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.
(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.
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.
Lyoto Machida had a damn good run at light-heavyweight. The hard-to-touch karate fighter spent a year as the UFC’s 205-pound champion in 2009-2010, and has earned victories against Dan Henderson, Randy Couture, Rashad Evans, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Tito Ortiz, Ryan Bader, and Thiago Silva. If you’re keeping score, that’s five former world-champions, a TUF winner, and a weed-puffin’juice-monkey. What other active LHW can claim that kind of resume, outside of Jon Jones himself?
For Machida, the drop in weight is a logical step and long overdue. “The Dragon” has often showed up to weigh-ins under the 205-pound limit, most notably coming in four pounds under for his August 2012 fight against Ryan Bader, and three pounds under for his subsequent fight against Dan Henderson. In terms of height and reach, he’s not too much different from Nick Diaz, who he was rumored to fight until the UFC realized it was a bad idea. Fighting smaller opponents at 185 could jump-start Machida’s career, and put him on a new path to a title — as long as his longtime friend Anderson Silva doesn’t get in the way.
At this point, the only other match booked for Fight for the Troops 3 is the lightweight scrap between Jorge Masvidal and Rustam Khabilov. The two previous installments of Fight for the Troops helped raise over $8 million for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.
Lyoto Machida had a damn good run at light-heavyweight. The hard-to-touch karate fighter spent a year as the UFC’s 205-pound champion in 2009-2010, and has earned victories against Dan Henderson, Randy Couture, Rashad Evans, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Tito Ortiz, Ryan Bader, and Thiago Silva. If you’re keeping score, that’s five former world-champions, a TUF winner, and a weed-puffin’juice-monkey. What other active LHW can claim that kind of resume, outside of Jon Jones himself?
For Machida, the drop in weight is a logical step and long overdue. “The Dragon” has often showed up to weigh-ins under the 205-pound limit, most notably coming in four pounds under for his August 2012 fight against Ryan Bader, and three pounds under for his subsequent fight against Dan Henderson. In terms of height and reach, he’s not too much different from Nick Diaz, who he was rumored to fight until the UFC realized it was a bad idea. Fighting smaller opponents at 185 could jump-start Machida’s career, and put him on a new path to a title — as long as his longtime friend Anderson Silva doesn’t get in the way.
At this point, the only other match booked for Fight for the Troops 3 is the lightweight scrap between Jorge Masvidal and Rustam Khabilov. The two previous installments of Fight for the Troops helped raise over $8 million for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.
Just like the GSP/Hendro main event, MacDonald vs. Lawler pits an athletically gifted Canadian phenom against an American southpaw with dynamite in his fists. Our prediction: Robbie Lawler knocks out GSP in a short-notice replacement fight after MacDonald and Hendricks are both injured while warming up backstage before the event. We’re actually willing to bet money on that, but you have to give us +150,000 odds. (Alternate prediction: Hendricks misses weight by over 20 pounds.)
MacDonald is riding a five-fight win streak in the Octagon, most recently earning a decision win in a snoozefest against Jake Ellenberger at UFC on FOX 8. Lawler is 2-0 since returning to the UFC as a welterweight, scoring knockouts of Josh Koscheck and Bobby Voelker.
(You almost feel bad for Koscheck. Almost. / Photo via Getty)
Just like the GSP/Hendro main event, MacDonald vs. Lawler pits an athletically gifted Canadian phenom against an American southpaw with dynamite in his fists. Our prediction: Robbie Lawler knocks out GSP in a short-notice replacement fight after MacDonald and Hendricks are both injured while warming up backstage before the event. We’re actually willing to bet money on that, but you have to give us +150,000 odds. (Alternate prediction: Hendricks misses weight by over 20 pounds.)
MacDonald is riding a five-fight win streak in the Octagon, most recently earning a decision win in a snoozefest against Jake Ellenberger at UFC on FOX 8. Lawler is 2-0 since returning to the UFC as a welterweight, scoring knockouts of Josh Koscheck and Bobby Voelker.
(“We needed somebody to emulate Jake’s style during this training camp, Luckily, the Purple Prancer was available.” / Props: @DemianMaia)
Demian Maia was supposed to compete earlier this month at UFC 163, but the injury curse had other plans, and his opponent Josh Koscheck was forced out on short notice. Luckily he’ll have another high-profile fight to make up for it. MMAFighting reports that Maia has verbally agreed to fight Jake Shields at UFC Fight Night 29, which goes down October 9th, possibly at the Gymnasium Multisport José Corrêa in Barueri, São Paulo. The event will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1.
Between his previous wins over Rick Story and Jon Fitch, and his bookings against Koscheck and Shields, Maia is becoming a villain to West Coast-based American wrestlers during his current run at welterweight — though he’ll certainly be treated like a hero in his return to Brazil. Shields is coming off a forgettable split-decision victory against Tyron Woodley at UFC 161 in June, which followed his no-contest against Ed Herman due to a failed drug test. It’s been a long time since Shields has had a truly impressive victory (you might have to go all the way back to April 2010), and the odds won’t be in his favor this fall.
(“We needed somebody to emulate Jake’s style during this training camp, Luckily, the Purple Prancer was available.” / Props: @DemianMaia)
Demian Maia was supposed to compete earlier this month at UFC 163, but the injury curse had other plans, and his opponent Josh Koscheck was forced out on short notice. Luckily he’ll have another high-profile fight to make up for it. MMAFighting reports that Maia has verbally agreed to fight Jake Shields at UFC Fight Night 29, which goes down October 9th, possibly at the Gymnasium Multisport José Corrêa in Barueri, São Paulo. The event will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1.
Between his previous wins over Rick Story and Jon Fitch, and his bookings against Koscheck and Shields, Maia is becoming a villain to West Coast-based American wrestlers during his current run at welterweight — though he’ll certainly be treated like a hero in his return to Brazil. Shields is coming off a forgettable split-decision victory against Tyron Woodley at UFC 161 in June, which followed his no-contest against Ed Herman due to a failed drug test. It’s been a long time since Shields has had a truly impressive victory (you might have to go all the way back to April 2010), and the odds won’t be in his favor this fall.
Lineker and Harris were originally supposed to meet at UFC 163 last weekend, but Harris had to withdraw due to a training injury, and was replaced by Jose Maria. Lineker beat Maria by second-round TKO, bumping his UFC record to 3-0. Now, the Lineker/Harris matchup has been rescheduled on the Brit’s home turf. Assuming he actually makes weight this time, an impressive win for Lineker here could clinch him a flyweight title shot.
Also on the UFC Fight Night 30 card, a light-heavyweight matchup between undefeated Nigerian-English juggernaut Jimi Manuwa and breakdancing-Canadian Ryan Jimmo is also being targeted for the event. In 13 professional fights, Manuawa has never let an opponent see the third round; his two UFC appearances resulted in a TKO win due to doctor’s stoppage against Kyle Kingsbury and a TKO win due to injury against Cyrille Diabaté.
Jimmo recently bounced back to the win column with a decision win against Igor Pokrajac at UFC 161. He’ll surely be the underdog in this fight, but he might be able to slow Manauwa’s pace with his wrestling long enough to land one big shot. If you’ve got predictions, let ’em rip…
(Clearly, Kingsbu zigged when he should have zagged. / Image via Getty)
Lineker and Harris were originally supposed to meet at UFC 163 last weekend, but Harris had to withdraw due to a training injury, and was replaced by Jose Maria. Lineker beat Maria by second-round TKO, bumping his UFC record to 3-0. Now, the Lineker/Harris matchup has been rescheduled on the Brit’s home turf. Assuming he actually makes weight this time, an impressive win for Lineker here could clinch him a flyweight title shot.
Also on the UFC Fight Night 30 card, a light-heavyweight matchup between undefeated Nigerian-English juggernaut Jimi Manuwa and breakdancing-Canadian Ryan Jimmo is also being targeted for the event. In 13 professional fights, Manuawa has never let an opponent see the third round; his two UFC appearances resulted in a TKO win due to doctor’s stoppage against Kyle Kingsbury and a TKO win due to injury against Cyrille Diabaté.
Jimmo recently bounced back to the win column with a decision win against Igor Pokrajac at UFC 161. He’ll surely be the underdog in this fight, but he might be able to slow Manauwa’s pace with his wrestling long enough to land one big shot. If you’ve got predictions, let ‘em rip…
