Don't call it a comeback.
Former UFC light heavyweight Sean Salmon returns to North American mixed martial arts when he takes on Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 2 castaway Tom Murphy at Ringside 7: "No Escape" from the Centre Pierre Charbonneau in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on Friday, June 18.
Interestingly enough, both men are probably best known for losing to Rashad Evans.
Salmon was poached by the Ohio State Athletic Commission in the latter part of 2009 for comments he made following a June 6 loss to Allan Weickert at "Fight Nite in the Flats 5."
The Ohio native, who also operates his S.S. Combat & Fitness Center in the area, blogged that he "gave" Weickert an armbar submission win at the aforementioned bout to avoid further damage.
The troubled fighter, who can still be seen via highlight reel sustaining a brutal knockout loss to Evans at UFC Fight Night 8, also admitted that his purpose for exiting the fight unscathed was to preserve his role as a training partner for Michael Bisping and Cheick Kongo for their upcoming fights.
His admission set off a firestorm on the message boards among mixed martial arts purists and he has since attempted to clarify his incendiary remarks.
Unfortunately his explanation was unsatisfactory for the Commission, who suspended and fined him following an Oct. 14 hearing. The suspension is considered retroactive and will expire on June 6, 2010 -- nearly two weeks before his appearance at Ringside 7.
Still, that hasn't stopped him from competing.
Salmon made two appearances under the Fight Festival banner in Finland where his suspension is not recognized. After a unanimous decision win over Yuki Sasaki last October, he was knocked out via knee to the body courtesy of Alexander Shlemenko back in March.
Salmon is 5-5 in his past ten fights.
Murphy on the other hand is still undefeated (the Evans loss on TUF was considered an exhibition) at 6-0. But he also only fights on an average of once a year, which explains why he's had only six professional fights since his 2004 debut.
On a positive note, they've all been finishes. Will Salmon be number seven?
Here is the current "No Escape" fight card:
Sean Salmon vs. Tom Murphy
Guillaume de Lorenzi vs. Dale Hartt
Derek Gauthier vs. Jason MacKay
Tim Wadsworth vs. Dave Scholten
Alex Garcia vs. Ricky Goodall
Daylin Logan vs. Lloyd Galindo
Eugenio Carpine vs. Rejean Groulx
Christopher Boisvert vs. Kevin Morin
Mark Fraser vs. Adam Kastner
Yohan Gariépy vs. Dany St-Gelais
Matt Northcott vs. Taylor Solomon
Dimitri Waardenberg vs. Denis Puric
Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more updates to Ringside 7: "No Escape" as they become available.
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