UFC Fight for the Troops 2 Results: What's Next for the Losers?
A loss can be extremely detrimental to an MMA fighter's career. In some cases, it can take a fighter years to build themself back up to where they were before losing.
Of the eleven fighters to lose at UFC Fight For The Troops 2, Evan Dunham's loss probably hurt the most. Even after a split decision loss to Sean Sherk, Dunham was being considered a borderline contender in the lightweight division.
Heading into their fight, Dunham was considered a heavy favorite over Melvin Guillard. Now, Dunham is a loser of two in a row and could be in danger of getting cut from the promotion with a third straight loss.
Dunham's next fight will be a crucial one in his climb back to contender status, so let's take a look at what could be next for him and the other UFC Fight For The Troops 2 losers.
Will Campuzano
1 of 11
With his loss to Chris Cariaso, Will Campuzano has now lost four of his last six fights. Campuzano is now in danger of being cut from the promotion. The bantamweight division is rather thin, but it would be hard to justify keeping Campuzano with some of the other fighters who have been cut recently.
Campuzano is a fairly exciting fighter to watch, but he has a lot of holes in his games that need to be fixed before we see him fighting on the biggest stage in MMA again.
What's Next: Campuzano will most likely have to fight his way back into the UFC through smaller organizations.
Amilcar Alves
2 of 11
I hate to predict that fighters are going to lose their jobs, but, like Will Campuzano, that will most likely be the case with Amilcar Alves. In both of the fights in the UFC, Alves has been completely shut down by wrestlers.
First, Mike Pierce manhandled and submitted Alves at UFC 118. At UFC Fight For The Troops 2, Alves was out-wrestled again by Charlie Brenneman.
What's Next: Alves will need to improve his takedown defense if he wants to get another shot with the UFC sometime in the future.
Willamy Freire
3 of 11
In his debut with the UFC. Willamy Freire lost in a decision to Waylon Lowe. The loss snapped an eleven fight win streak for Friere.
Freire will certainly get another shot with the promotion, but his job will more than likely be on the like considering the depth of the lightweight division.
What's Next: For his next fight, Freire will most likely fight one of the many low-tier UFC lightweights coming off of a loss.
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Mike Brown
4 of 11
The fall from the top has been quick and painful for Mike Brown. A former WEC Featherweight Champion, Brown has now lost four out of six. Brown took a fight against Rani Yahya on short notice, three weeks after losing to Diego Nunes at UFC 125, as an opportunity to quickly bounce back.
Instead, Brown's spot in the UFC is now on thin ice. Considering his drawing power in comparison to most of the other featherweights and the fact that he took this fight on short notice, Brown will probably get one more shot with the UFC.
What's Next: If the UFC gives Brown another shot, he could test Josh Grispi's ability to rebound from a loss.
Mike Guymon
5 of 11
With his loss to DaMarques Johnson, Mike Guymon's record with the UFC is now 1-3. Guymon would almost certainly be cut from the promotion, but it appears he is deciding to retire. After his fight, Guymon said, "I'm so happy to be done. I just accomplished everything I wanted to do in fighting."
Guymon reached the UFC, something only a small percentage of the world's fighters can reach. He should be very proud of what he has done with his career. It is never an easy decision to give up something that you love doing, but the 36-year-old Guymon seems content.
What's Next: Guymon will most likely continue coaching at his gym, Joker's MMA.
Cody McKenzie
6 of 11
After eleven consecutive fights, Cody McKenzie's incredible streak of wins by guillotine choke is over. Many believed that McKenzie would be completely exposed as a one-trick pony against Yves Edwards, but that wasn't really the case.
McKenzie was able to survive on his feet and looked to be out-grappling Edwards until getting reversed an submitted late in the second round. With this fight, McKenzie proved to a lot of people that he belongs in the UFC.
What's Next: As previously stated, there are a ton of fights available between low-tier lightweights coming off of a loss.
Cole Miller
7 of 11
Cole Miller has had three opportunities to string three consecutive UFC wins together. Every time, he has come up short. In this latest attempt, Cole Miller was hurt early and dominated for the rest of the fight by Matt Wiman.
A winner of three Submission of the Night awards, Miller seems like the type of fighter that will be given a few opportunities before being cut by the UFC. Still, Miller's going to have to prove he can be competitive with top lightweights at some point.
What's Next: Miller is more established than the previously mentioned lightweight losers, so he will likely get a fight with another middle-of-the-road lightweight coming off of a loss. Joe Lauzon and Terry Etim would make for interesting match-ups.
Joey Beltran
8 of 11
A lot of fighters have been cut recently after losing two fights in a row. Having put on an exciting performance in a close fight with Pat Barry, Joey Beltran might avoid that trend.
In his last two losses, Beltran has proven that he is one of the toughest fighters in the UFC. Beltran took an incredible amount of punishment and still managed to take both fights the distance.
What's Next: Almost all of the UFC's heavyweights have fights scheduled. The ones that don't have either already fought Beltran or are on a different level. If the UFC keeps Beltran, he could be used to test a newcomer.
George Roop
9 of 11
For a fighter who served as the final stepping stone to a title shot, George Roop doesn't exactly have a staggering record. Roop has posted a 2-4-1 record under Zuffa promotions.
Still, Mark Hominick earned a chance to fight for the UFC Featherweight Championship with his knockout of Roop at UFC Fight For The Troops 2. It was an embarrassing night on multiple levels for Roop. After getting knocked out quickly by Hominick, Roop was left alone and stumbled around the Octagon before being held up by the fighter who had just demolished him.
What's Next: The loser of a UFC 127 fight between Zhang Tie Quan and Jason Reinhardt could be a viable opponent for Roop.
Tim Hague
10 of 11
After being cut from the UFC as a result of his May 2010 loss to Joey Beltran, Tim Hague earned his way back into the promotion with two first round knockouts. Unfortunately for Hague, a loss to Matt Mitrione meant he was unsuccessful for the fourth time in five Octagon appearances.
It is only one loss since his return to the UFC, but it is apparent that Hague doesn't really belong in the UFC. If he is lucky enough to be kept around, Hague will most definitely be fighting for his spot with the promotion in his next fight.
What's Next: If Hague's next fight is in the UFC, it could be against another fighter who would be lucky to still be fighting for the promotion. The loser of a fight in March between Sean McCorkle and Christian Morecraft could receive Hague as their next opponent.
Evan Dunham
11 of 11
Originally expected to be fighting Kenny Florian, Evan Dunham was heavily favored over Melvin Guillard. Dunham's advantage over Guillard was going to be on the ground, but he was unable to keep the fight there.
As a result, Guillard hit Dunham with several big shots and finished the fight with a knee from the clinch. The loss was Dunham's second in a row, which could mean that this loss turned the borderline contender into another lightweight fighting for his job.
What's Next: With both notable fighters coming off of losses, Takanori Gomi would be an interesting match-up for Dunham.
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