UFC Fight for The Troops 2: Main Card Breakdown
The last time the Ultimate Fighting Championship held an event for the United States Military, was in 2008 almost three years ago from now. In 2011, the UFC once again does another show for the military this time at Fort Hood base in Kileen, Texas. Fight for the Troops 2 is a free show live on Spike. If your part of the world or cable provider doesn’t air UFC events, don’t worry you get to see the prelims for free on the UFC’s official Facebook page. And if your net savvy….Well I ain’t going to say anything, but you know how to get your MMA fix. This edition of FFTT 2 features a TUF 5 Alumni / Ex-Baseball player (Cole Miller) taking on another TUF 5 Alumni (Matt Wiman). An energetic Ex-K-1 fighter (Pat Berry) fighting a “Mexicutioner” (Joey Beltran). We get to see a “Machine” (Mark Hominick) fight a TUF 8 vet with a funny last name (George Roop). Who wants to see an Ex-NFL player (Matt Mitrione) fight a Canadian Kindergarden teacher (Tim Hague)?! Do you? For the main event do you want to see a top ranked Lightweight, who used to install your cable (Evan Dunham) fight a guy who trains under Greg Jackson, likes to stand and trade, and has been seen with white powder on his nose (Melvin Guillard) I want to see all of this! What a diverse card and the best part about all of this, it’s FREE! Let us breakdown the fights together without me boring you with a wall of text!
Lightweight Bout: Cole Miller (17-4) Vs. Matt Wiman (12-5):
-Majority of wins via Submission (12)
-Has shown in the past he can strike it out (TKO victory over Andy Wang TUF 5 Finale)
-Very strong Jiu-Jitsu for MMA (Submitted World Class BJJ Black Belt Jorge Gurgel at UFC 86)
-Holds a win over top ranked Lightweight, Michihiro Omigawa at UFC 76.
-Has shown capable striking ability by KO’ing Thiago Tavares at UFC 85.
-Was involved in three straight Fight of the Nights (Thiago Tavares, Jim Miller, Sam Stout).
Breakdown: Matt Wiman has been involved in some of the most exciting fights ever seen in the UFC and he is very rarely involved in a boring fight. Hell I might even throw this out there and say this could be fight of the night. Even though Wiman tapped out Mac Danzig with an awesome guillotine choke at UFC 115, I personally believe Cole Miller has the stronger grappling pedigree that could see Matt Wiman get submitted. I’d say advantage Miller.
Heavyweight Bout: Pat Berry (7-2) Vs. Joey Beltran (16-4):
Pat Berry:
-K-1 Level striker
-Explosive and powerful
-Devastating Knockout Artist
–Majority of wins via. KO (10)
-Has shown in the past that he is a capable grappler on the ground
-Explosive and powerful
Breakdown: Wow, both men really do like to stand and strike it out. Especially Pat Berry, that’s his domain. Personally I think he would have been a very respectable and good K-1 fighter if he choose to stay in pure stand up striking. With knockout power in his hands and legs, the man known as “Hype or Die” is a threat to anyone that wants to stand up with him.
Joey Beltran is no slouch himself, he enjoys knocking out opponents just as much as Berry does. But what he lacks in the striking background like Berry, he has in grappling. No disrespect to Pat Berry, but we’ve seen what Pat Berry can do on the ground. He has almost zero grappling game, but that being said I don’t think this is going to be a grappling match. Both may want to keep the fight standing and if that happens Berry could KO Beltran to next week. However If Beltran decides to take the fight to the ground, he could submit “HD”. Advantage Beltran.
Featherweight Bout: Mark Hominick (19-8) Vs. George Roop (11-6)
-Well-rounded fighter who can strike and grapple
-World class MMA striking having competed in elite striking organizations like Shoot Boxing
-Good footwork, good speed
George Roop:
-Well-rounded fighter like Hominick
-Accurate striker
-Has shown strong ground grappling
Breakdown: This is a very evenly matched fight that could go either way. George Roop has shown people he can stand and strike it out, however Mark Hominick is no Korean Zombie. He is not a reckless striker, who arm punches. This man is a true threat on the feet, that has competed at the top level as a pure stand up striker. Interesting side story, Mark Hominick and George Roop used to be training partners under Coach Shawn Tompkins, so they’ll know each other very well. However I believe Hominick not only is the better, more accomplished striker, he has shown to be dangerous on the ground too. Advantage Hominick.
Heavyweight Bout: Matt Mitrione (3-0) Vs. Tim Hague (12-4)
-Explosive and powerful
-Strong
-Trains under Duke Roufus
Tim Hague:
–Powerful
-Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Purple Belt
-Well-Rounded
Breakdown: Tim Hague is making his UFC return tonight against TUF 10 alumni Matt Mitrione. “Meathead” has only had three professional fights in his short career and we really don’t know much about him compared to Tim Hague. We’ve seen Mitrione beat guys like Kimbo Slice, Marcus Jones, and he has upset a game opponent in Joey Beltran. I think Hague is a great test for Mitrione. Hague not only has KO’ed opponents, but he has shown the ability to tap people out. Hague is a much more experienced opponent and I believe Meathead’s inexperience can be exploited. If Hague can take Mitrione to the ground, I expect Hague to either control him there to decision or submit him. Advantage Hague.
Lightweight Main Event: Evan Dunham (12-1) Vs. Melvin Guillard (26-8)
-Very accomplished MMA grappler (BJJ Black Belt and Wrestling wizard)
-Dangerous Submission Artist
-Accurate Striker
-Explosive striker
-Good Grappling ability
-Has shown decent ground skills
Breakdown: Evan Dunham is fresh off his first career loss to Sean Sherk. I personally thought Dunham got robbed in that fight and should have won, but there’s not much you can do about a judge’s decision no matter how bad it is. I personally believe he is going into this fight very hungry to prove why he should be a contender for the Lightweight Title.
Melvin Guillard on the other hand has won three straight fights and I believe a win over an a opponent like Dunham would really boost up his stock value. Guillard as we’ve seen many times in the past prefers to keep the fight on the feet and if it somehow stays there Guillard has the advantage. However I believe Dunham with his superior grappling background will take it to the ground and could either submit him or hump him for three rounds. Whatever he decides, he could get the almighty “W”. Advantage Dunham.
So there you have it folks, my quick breakdown. Hopefully I didn’t bore you to death and enjoy the fights tonight! If you enjoy my unorthodox writing style, you can check out my other site Rabbit-Punch.net.
