UFC Fight for the Troops 2: 10 Reasons You Need To Watch

The UFC's second "Fight for the Troops" event is taking place this upcoming Saturday, the 22nd, at US military post Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas.

With the growth of the UFC and the recent addition of two weight classes, it can be hard to keep track of all the events that the UFC is putting on in the calendar year. 

These are the top 10 reasons you need to watch UFC: Fight for the Troops 2.

10. Free On Spike TV

With so many UFC events taking place in a year now, that means more PPV events to buy and that means it costs a lot of dough to keep track of all the UFC events.

Thank goodness there are free events like this one to help us get our MMA fix.  Spike TV has worked with UFC for years now and has gotten very good at putting on a slick broadcast.

9. Show Support For The UFC

The UFC recently held a press conference in New York City last Thursday, lobbying for support to sanction MMA in New York state and stating their intentions.

Unfortunately, when it comes to MMA, there are still some politicians in the world who refuse to listen to the people and to reason.

Coming off of the tails of the NYC press conference, FFTT is a highly visible event that can help carry some of the momentum.

8. Repeat Success of the Original FFTT

It was certainly unfortunate we witnessed a couple of brutal injuries in the first Fight for the Troops event, but those fighters rebounded in their careers and the event was a tremendous success overall.

Maybe fighting in front of and for the US armed forces gave the fighters extra motivation.  All the fights were very exciting.  

On the main card, Jim Miller VS Matt Wiman was the only fight to even reach the third round, and that fight received 'fight on the night' honors.

Expect all the fighters to come out pumped up and ready for a good showing on the night.

7. The Preliminary Card

While television audiences will not be able to watch all the preliminary fights, there are a couple of notable undercard fights worth tracking, most notably Kody McKenzie VS Yves Edwards and Mike Brown VS Rani Yahya.

Cody McKenzie VS Yves Edwards

Cody McKenzie was a fan favorite on The Ultimate Fighter: season 12.  Cody is a relaxed and funny guy but was also notable for pressing the opposing coach Josh Koscheck's buttons.  

He can do that and back it up.  He is undefeated, never been to a decision, and has THE best guillotine choke in professional MMA (seriously, look up his record).

Edwards is a very talented veteran of the sport who is looking for a comeback.  He has some bigs wins on his résumé and was at one point considered the unofficial champ of the UFC's lightweight division (there was no official champion at the time).

Mike Brown VS Rani Yahya

It was not that long ago that Mike Brown was the on top of the featherweight world and in serious pound-for-pound discussions.  Still one of the division's best, Brown is looking to rebound from a close decision loss to highly ranked Diego Nunes.

Yahya is a young guy and coming off of two consecutive losses, but is as dangerous as they come as he has wins against some of the best guys in the Bantamweight and Featherweight divisions.

6. Cole Miller VS Matt Wiman

As was pointed out on last week's episode of ESPN's 'MMA Live', these are two of the most emotional fighters in the lightweight division.  They like to scrap and they are going to get after each other.

Both guys are young and each man already has accrued an impressive six victories inside the octagon.

While a victory for either competitor will not guarantee them a spot in the discussion for title contention, both can handle top competition and can be fighting in the UFC for quite some time to come.

You will want to watch these guys, because chances are, you'll be hearing from them again.

5. Pat Barry VS Joey Beltran

If you want fireworks in an MMA fight, you can let one of these heavyweight sluggers go at it, or better yet, go at it against each other.

Barry is the more respected and accomplished striker and Beltran is noted for his heart and resilience. 

Being stocky and somewhat undersized for the heavyweight division, these guys may find trouble getting to a title shot eventually, but they certainly are exciting gatekeepers and will be working hard to win that KO of the night bonus.

4. Matt Mitrione VS Tim Hague

Matt Mitrione, the powerful former-NFL player, first introduced himself to MMA fans on the 10th season of The Ultimate Fighter.  With natural athleticism and 3 UFC wins to his credit, Mitrione will be looking to see just how big he can build his name in mixed martial arts.

Hague underwhelmed during his first UFC stint, going 1-3.  Since then he has notched two impressive first round knockouts and is invited back in this co-main event slot against Matt Mitrione.  

Hague is a big well-rounded heavyweight and should be a good barometer for where Mitrione is at.

3. Evan Dunham VS Melvin Guillard

Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images

LAS VEGAS - MAY 28: UFC fighter Melvin Guillard weighs in for his fight against UFC fighter Waylon Lowe at UFC 114: Rampage versus Rashad at the Mandalay Bay Hotel on May 28, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)

The main event features two lightweights.

Melvin Guillard has always been one of the lightweight division's biggest punchers.  With the help of famous trainer Greg Jackson, Guillard's mental game has also been making some progress lately, and that makes him one of the most dangerous fighters around.

These days Guillard has the ability to play just about any game his opponent wants, but if he smells an opening, he'll put a hurting on that almost no one in the division can match.

A win over Dunham, the favorite, would allow Guillard to be matched up with the elite of the division.

Evan has always been a consistent performer and is dangerous in striking, grappling, and in transitions.  

Dunham was the victim of a highly controversial decision against former champ Sean Sherk and will be looking to dominate Guillard in order to reaffirm his status as one of the best lightweights in the world.

He is capable of such a performance, but he better be prepared for the best Melvin Guillard anyone has ever seen.

2. Mark Hominick VS George Roop

Although not the main event, Hominick VS Roop, in a way, is the most important fight of the night because it has direct title implications.

If Mark Hominick beats George Roop he has been promised a shot at featherweight champion Jose Aldo.

George Roop is no push over though.  Although his record is spotted with a number of losses, Roop is finding his his groove at featherweight and has great potential.

The preference for both of these men is to stand and strike, but with Roop having about five inches of height on his opponent, it will be interesting to see how the betting favorite Hominick works his way inside.

1. The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund

Not only is Fight for the Troops an exciting event for MMA audiences world wide, it raises money for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.

This fund provides support for severely wounded veterans and military personnel, as well as families of soldiers who were lost in service.

There are a lot of reasons that we should watch UFC: Fight For The Troops 2, but this is the reason that makes this event so special and stand out from the rest.

MMAweekly.com reported that the first FFTT event raised $4 million for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.  That's something we can all be proud of.