· Who’s Next? “Fight For The Troops 2” Edition
Mark Hominick will get his title shot after a one-sided beatdown of a game George Roop, but the future for the rest of the “Fight for the Troops 2” cast is still undecided. Heavyweights and lightweights were most of the show, so it would not be surprising to see some of these guys facing each other in the near future. Here is how it might play out.
Melvin Guillard vs. Kenny Florian
Sometimes matchups just seem to make too much sense, and this is one of them. Florian was supposed to face Evan Dunham in the UFN 23 main event before being injured, and he would be the perfect matchup for Guillard’s continued climb up the ladder. If Melvin ever wants a title shot, beating a fighter who has already received two of them would be a good way to prove it. The stylistic matchup would be intriguing as well. Guillard’s power would be put to test against Florian’s all-around game, and this would be the perfect fight to headline a Spike TV or Versus card.
Matt Mitrione vs. winner of Brendan Schaub/Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović
Mitrione probably isn’t ready for the power of former interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin, but a step up that would make sense would be to have him face off with the winner of the Schaub/Cro Cop matchup at UFC 128. Schaub was Mitrione’s castmate on "The Ultimate Fighter 10," and Cro Cop needs no introduction. Either fighter would provide a test for “Meathead’s” ever improving standup, and a victory would put either fighter in immediate title contention.
Pat Barry vs. winner of Jon Madsen/Mike Russow
Pat Barry has proved that he can outstrike many of the top heavyweights in the UFC, but his ground game is still the question. If a move to light heavyweight is out of the question—moving to a deeper division with many other dominant strikers would be a bad move for Barry—then a matchup with one of two grapplers who possess iron chins would seem to be a realistic next step. These two face off at UFC Fight Night 24 in March, and Barry could be faced off with the winner.
Matt Wiman vs. Yves Edwards
Wiman has quietly won three fights in a row after a two-fight skid, and Edwards was impressive on the mat in his win over the awkward Cody McKenzie. Decisions have been the kryptonite of the “Thugjitsu Master”—he’s lost nine of them—and Wiman is the type of fighter who could last 15 minutes against the veteran. Edwards would need to keep this fight on his feet to win, and Wiman would certainly be relentless at trying to get it there. The Spike prelims would certainly welcome this fight, or it could be placed on the main card of a UFN event.
Armchair Matchmaker:
- Evan Dunham vs. Takanori Gomi
- George Roop vs. Javier Vazquez
- Joey Beltran vs. Rob Broughton
- Cole Miller vs. Joe Lauzon
- Cody McKenzie vs. Charles Oliveira
- Damarques Johnson vs. Matt Brown
- Rani Yahya vs. Erik Koch/Cub Swanson winner
- Waylon Lowe vs. Tyson Griffin
- Willamy Freire vs. Aaron Riley
- Charlie Brenneman vs. Chris Lytle/Carlos Condit loser
- Chris Cariaso vs. Brad Pickett
The biggest name on the potential cut list is former WEC featherweight champion Mike Brown, who could receive a pink slip after his second loss in three weeks and fourth of his last six outings. The complete list, from most likely to least likely: Tim Hague, Amilcar Alves, Will Campuzano, Mike Guymon, and Mike Brown.
