The UFC will hold present their third official event on the VersusTV channel and their first official event ever in the state of Kentucky on March 3 at the KFC Yum! Center. While this card has been plagued with fighters dropping out of this card due to injuries and personal problems, this event still has great potential to turn out some action.
MAIN CARD BOUTS:
Diego Sanchez (22-4-0) vs Martin Kampmann (17-4-0)
C.B. Dolloway (11-2-0) vs Mark Munoz (9-2-0)
Alessio Sakara (15-7-0(1)) vs Chris Weidman (4-0-0)
Brian Bowles (8-1-0) vs Damacio Page (15-5-0)
For this event, fans with access to the channel VersusTV will be able to view this event free with commercials in between rounds and bouts.
Serving as the main event for this card will be a Welterweight bout between two veterans of the promotion with TUF1 winner & Greg Jackson product Diego Sanchez fighting Xtreme Couture product Martin Kampmann. Sanchez is coming off a come back with a dominant Unanimous Decision win over Blackhouse product Paulo Thiago at UFC 121. Kampmann is coming off what some would consider a controversial Split Decision loss to now #1 contender Jake Shields also at UFC 121. A win for either fighter would not throw them into the title mix at 170lbs, but it would help boost them back into recognition for getting matched up against higher ranked competition. Stylistically, this bout should prove interesting to watch with both fighters having strong striking and grappling in their arsenals. While Sanchez had come into his career with a strong wrestling background, his striking has come natural making a strong combination that has earned him a combined fifteen total finishes to his record. Kampmann on the other hand came into his career with strong Muay Thai skills and would develop a strong submission grappling game while training with legend Randy Couture. Skill wise, Sanchez may look to impose his will and grind Kampmann with a strong ground-&-pound game to look for the TKO/KO victory, while Kampmann may look to keep the fight standing to use his more experienced striking & be prepared to look for submissions off his back.
Serving as the lead in to the main event will be a Middleweight bout between two NCAA 1 collegiate wrestlers with Dolloway vs Munoz. A runner-up from TUF7, Dolloway is coming off three wins with a Rnd1 Submission at UFC 119. Munoz will be coming in off a Unanimous Decision win at UFC 123. While this bout does not have much importance in the division, a win for Dolloway could move up in competition, while a win for Munoz may look to prove himself as a recent announcement of the UFC looking to hold their first overseas Ultimate Fighter in the Munoz's ancestral home of the Philippines. Both are similar in using their wrestling to dominate their opponents with grinding or submission hunting. Dolloway would look for a submission at any point the bout hits the ground, while Munoz will look to land to stronger strikes standing & ground-&-pound should he get top position on the ground.
The second bout on the main card will be a Middleweight bout that suffered two opponent changes leading into this event. Originally scheduled Italian striker Sakara is now facing the lesser experienced though undefeated late replacement Weidman. Sakara is finally making his return to the cage after pulling out of UFC 116 after a death in the family, being forced off UFC 118 with injury, & being forced off UFC 122 just hours before his bout due to excessive vomiting due to illness. His original opponent was Maiquel Falcao who was forced off with an injury, who was then replaced by Rafael Natal who also was forced off with an injury. Sakara comes off a three fight win streak with a Rnd1 TKO win at UFC Live 1. Weidman is coming an undefeated four fight win streak making his promotional debut after a Unanimous Decision win at ROC 33. While this bout seems one sided with the more experienced Sakara fighting an opponent with only four pro fights, Weidman is the more experienced on the ground with as a 2x NCAA 1 All American collegiate wrestler. Style wise this is a classic striker vs grappler. Sakara will obviously look to use his strong hands with a pro boxing record to end the fight with strikes, while Weidman will look to take it to the ground with his wrestling & look for a submission training with Matt Serra's camp.
The first bout of the night will be a rematch of two now former WEC fighters making their UFC debut as former WEC bantamweight champion & original winner Bowles fighting the more experienced Page. Bowles & Page originally fought at WEC 35 in 2008 when Bowles won by Rnd1 Submission which earned him the Sub of the Night bonus. Bowles is coming off his first loss & the loss of his title after breaking his hand in Rnd2 and the doctors calling a stoppage at WEC 47 and is returning a few days short of a year, while Page is coming off a loss by Rnd3 Submission at WEC 52. Bowles will look to get back into the mix to retake his title, while Page will look to avenge his loss to the former champ. Bowles will look to use his fast pace & wrestling to dictate where the fight will go as he has finished all his bouts by stoppage, while Page will look to look to keep his distance with strikes & be prepared to look for submissions off his back and sweep to the top.
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