UFC Fight for the Troops 2: Keys to Victory for Every Main Card Fighter
UFC Fight for the Troops 2 will be hosting a series of heavyweight and lightweight bouts featuring some of the most exciting fighters both divisions have to offer.
In the main event, Evan Dunham (11-1) takes on Melvin Guillard (26-8) in a battle of lightweights determined to make a statement and take home a convincing victory.
Dunham is rebounding off a close and controversial split-decision loss to Sean Sherk while Guillard is coming off a split-decision win over Jeremy Stephens.
Other matches include Pat Barry vs. Joey Beltran and Matt Mitrione vs. Tim Hague. Both are guaranteed to produce either a knockout or "Fight of the Night" award.
The fifth fight on the card, which airs 9 P.M. ET and 6 P.M. P.T on Spike TV, is a featherweight bout between George Roop and Mark Hominick.
Keys to Victory for Cole Miller
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Cole Miller (17-4) is coming off an impressive win over Ross Pearson at Ultimate Fight Night 22 that increased his win streak to two and earned him his third "Submission of the Night" award.
He takes on Matt "Handsome" Wiman who also is on a two-fight win streak.
There have been some interviews of Miller calling out Donald Cerrone for his next fight so it will be interesting to see if he is looking past Wiman at all leading up to this fight. If he is, his win streak may be in danger.
While Miller would have trouble with the height and reach of Cerrone, he will have to use his own against Wiman in this fight.
He has a six-inch reach advantage over Wiman so it will be important for him to secure the victory whether it's by keeping Wiman on the end of a jab or by using it to catch a submission on the ground.
Wiman has never been submitted so Miller will have to work extra hard to get it, but it could be the kind of finish that gets him a fight with Cerrone.
Keys to Victory for Matt Wiman
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Matt Wiman (15-5) is coming off a controversial submission victory over Mac Danzig.
When referee Yves Lavigne responded to Wiman telling him Danzig was out and called the finish, it turned out he wasn't, which led to a unsatisfying and inconclusive victory for Wiman.
With the new roster of lightweights making their way into the UFC, the loser of this fight will be taking a big step backward.
It will be important for both fighters that they win in impressive fashion, which may be harder and riskier for Wiman than it will be for Miller.
Wiman will have to use his wrestling to put Miller on his back and keep him there for the majority of this fight. His keys to victory include patience, takedowns and submission defense.
It will be a hard fight to score if it goes to a decision because you will be scoring Wiman's control on the ground versus Miller's submission attempts.
Keys to Victory for Pat Barry
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Pat "HD" Barry (5-2) is taking on Joey Beltran, and this one guarantees a "Knockout of the Night."
If we don't get that, it will be a "Fight of the Night." Maybe it will be both.
The keys to victory for Barry will be to not get caught up in the moment like he did in his last fight against Mirko "Cro Cop," which saw him getting rocked and choked out in the third round after the fight turned out to look like a sparring session.
Because that was his last fight, and Barry is irritated that no one stops talking about it, he will probably be looking to make a statement in this fight and so will Beltran, who is also coming off a loss.
Barry should look to land some of his "scary" leg kicks early and take out his opponent from there in calculated fashion.
In his last fight, he injured his hands and his foot so he may be more careful when he decides to strike. He has stated in some interviews that he would like to be a lot more careful when choosing when and where to attack.
Beltran is going to come out fast, which will give Barry a lot of chances to counter with punches and kicks.
It is the most obvious key to victory for Barry: avoid the takedowns, counter Beltran's attack and throw a lot of leg kicks.
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Keys to Victory for Joey Beltran
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Joey "The Mexicutioner" Beltran (12-4) is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Matt Mitrione at UFC 119 and will be looking to rebound from that defeat.
Beltran is going to have to take it to Barry early in this fight if he wants to win. That's what makes this fight so exciting.
Beltran is a striker, but he is not near the level of his opponent, and he is forced to stand with him. Barry has hinted that he will not come out as reckless in this fight, so Beltran may have a chance to get him early if he catches him in an awkward feeling-out process.
Taking the fight to the mat may also be a successful option for Beltran, but he will have to avoid an assortment of strikes if he wants to get it there.
Barry is still relatively new to MMA, and Beltran should try to force anything that doesn't include standing and trading strikes.
Beltran's keys to victory for this fight include avoid striking with Barry and smothering him against the cage and going for takedowns.
If he can get it to the mat, he may be able to wear Barry down and win a decision.
Keys to Victory for Mark Hominick
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Mark Hominick (19-8) is taking on his former teammate George Roop in a featherweight bout.
This is a tough fight for both men because they were training partners at Xtreme Couture for three years. Both will know each strengths and weaknesses going into this fight.
One questions is how will going from the WEC to the UFC affect these fighters and who will it affect more? Both have had UFC fights before so it will be interesting to see who adapts better after having been in the WEC and now are returning to the big leagues once again.
Hominick is undefeated in the UFC at 2-0 and has some of the best boxing in MMA. He will need to use his crisp and clean boxing to break down Roop and outpoint him to win a decision.
Going for broke will leave him open for Roop's surprises, but if he stays composed and follows a gameplan, he can win this fight with just his boxing.
If Hominick gets the better of Roop on the feet, he can use that momentum to take Roop down and get a rear-naked choke submission late in the fight.
Keys to Victory for George Roop
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George Roop (11-6) is coming off an impressive knockout of the year candidate against Chan Sung Jung, better known as "The Korean Zombie." He knocked him out with a head kick in the the second round.
He will need that same type of incredible knockout if he wants to win this fight, or he is going to have to at least attempt to do it.
Hominick is technically better than Roop in all areas, and it's going to take a wild and surprising blow to take him out.
The keys to victory for Roop include avoiding Hominick's striking and finding an opening for him to throw a punch or kick. He has to throw it with bad intentions as he did with Jung.
He is going to have to catch Hominick leaving himself open, which he rarely does.
It will be a tough fight for Roop, but the victory will be a rewarding one if he manages to pull it off.
Keys to Victory for Matt Mitrione
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Matt Mitrione is 3-0 in MMA and 3-0 in the UFC. This will be an important test for him because he is fighting a tough opponent in Tim Hague and is still inexperienced in MMA.
It's easy to get caught up in the lack of experience Mitrione has, but that just means he will be more impressive in each of his fights. He is improving every time we see him, and it shouldn't be any different this time around.
Mitrione's training partner, Pat Barry, was choked out by Tim Hague back at UFC 98 so he may be going into this fight looking to finish what Barry started. He will need to keep his composure and avoid the takedowns Hague will probably attempt early.
Beltran had some success taking Mitrione down in their fight, and it's something Mitrione has probably been working on since then.
He should look to keep the fight standing where he can do some damage even though he still lacks technique in his stand up.
Mitrione's keys to victory include avoiding Hague's early takedown attempts and taking it to him early where he may be able to catch him with a strike.
Mitrione isn't afraid to mix it up with kicks and punches, and with his solid chin, should take the fight to Hague as early as possible if he wants to avoid a long, hard grueling fight.
Keys to Victory for Tim Hague
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Tim Hague is 12-4 in MMA and 1-3 in the UFC. For Hague to win this fight, he will have to impose his size on Mitrione, who isn't too small himself.
At 256 pounds, Hague can use his size to his advantage, and that will be the biggest key to him being victorious in this fight.
Mitrione will probably come out fast like Pat Barry did in his fight with Hague, which found himself getting taken down, choked out and defeated in the first round.
Hague will have to look to do this again whether it counters an attack by Mitrione's or not. He needs to get this fight to the ground.
If Hague can get this fight to the mat, he has a big chance of pulling off the win.
He should look to take Mitrione where he is most uncomfortable on the ground and get a submission from there.
Keys to Victory for Melvin Guillard
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Melvin Guillard (26-8) will be taking on Evan Dunham in the main event, and it is a hard match to determine who will win and how they will do it.
Guillard is coming off a unimpressive split-decision win over Jeremy Stephens. It was a win, but it wasn't the same Guillard we were use to seeing. Guillard stated this himself after the victory, saying he wouldn't fight like that again.
It will be important for this fight that he doesn't fight cautiously.
Since Dunham isn't a fast starter, Guillard needs to come out fast and impose whatever gameplan he has early.
Guillard and Team Jackson probably know Dunham may be expecting this so it will have to be a carefully executed.
The good thing about being a fast starter is you can either secure a quick and easy victory or know in the second and third rounds you already have a round won. The bad thing is it can sometimes leave you gassed or losing focus when you need it the most as was the case with Guillard in a lot of his fights.
What makes this fight interesting is Dunham knows he needs to start faster after losing to Sean Sherk for mostly that reason. If he does this, Guillard is the one who is use to it, and it may pay off if he is able to connect on Dunahm early.
Guillard needs to attack early and try to get Dunham out of there as quick as possible.
It will be hard to do, but his chances are way better in the first than they are in the second and third rounds.
Keys to Victory for Evan Dunham
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Evan Dunham (11-1) is one of the best prospects in the lightweight division and in the sport.
He is well-rounded and fun to watch because he gets stronger as the fight goes on, which creates drama and excitement for anyone who is watching him fight.
Guillard is replacing an injured Kenny Florian for this fight, and Dunham got an easier opponent because of that. That doesn't mean this will be an easy fight because Guillard has a great training camp behind him in Team Jackson, and he is a dangerous opponent early.
Dunham has a lot of ways he can win this fight.
His submissions are very good, and Guillard is known for getting caught in chokes early and late in fights. Dunham also has excellent striking with both his punches and kicks.
He should probably focus on the submissions more so than the striking as Guillard has never been knocked out.
His keys to victory include avoiding any attack Guillard has early, and if he gets taken down, he can attack with guillotine chokes. If Guillard fights like he did against Stephens, Dunham should be able to take over in the second and third rounds and win a unanimous decision.
Dunham shouldn't look for the knockout in this fight, and he probably won't. It's going to be either a decision or submission victory for him if he emerges victorious.
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