Company ... halt!
Looks like the UFC is going to do an about face and give the U.S. servicemen (and women) a potential fight of the year candidate when Kenny Florian takes on Evan Dunham at the planned "Fight for the Troops" event, which is now expected to take place at Fort Hood on Jan. 22 in Kileen, TX.
"Kenflo" announced the bout for UFC 126 via ESPN's MMA Live back on Oct. 8 and today Heavy.com has reported the change in dates.
After losing his title bout with BJ Penn back in August of last year, Florian bounced back with two submission victories over Takanori Gomi and Clay Guida.
He once again entered the race for UFC gold before being stopped in his tracks by Gray Maynard over the summer, in a performance that earned "The Bully" a unanimous decision victory and a shot at Frankie Edgar's lightweight title.
One has to imagine that Florian has but one last run at this stage of his career and every fight, including his scrap with "The Kid," is a must-win situation.
Going into his UFC 119 bout against Sean Sherk, Dunham was perfect at 11-0, defeating the likes of Efrain Escudero and Tyson Griffin, but lost his fight to "The Muscle Shark" via controversial split decision.
While Sherk controlled the first round with his wrestling and effective ground and pound which opened up a sizable gash, many believed Dunham had bounced back in rounds two and three to earn the nod from the cageside judges.
Didn't happen.
But even in defeat, Dunham's stock continued to rise as he has emerged as a talented up-and-comer who could one day make a championship run himself. That journey will begin in early 2011 if he can somehow get past the contender killer from Boston, Mass.
UFC Fight for the Troops, while not officially announced, is expected to feature a heavyweight brouhaha between TUF 10 grad Matt Mitrione and Canadian Tim Hague.
Additional bouts of DaMarques Johnson vs. Mike Guymon and Melvin Guillard vs. Yves Edwards are also in the works.
Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more information on the Jan. 22 "Fight for the Troops" card as it becomes available.
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