Tim Kennedy, right, gets another shot in the Strikeforce cage Nov. 3, looking to avenge his July 14 loss to Luke Rockhold, left. (US Presswire photo by Scott Olmos)
Five quick shots of military-themed MMA news.
1. Kennedy’s next fight. Army sniper Tim Kennedy will return to the ring Nov. 3 in Oklahoma City to face Trevor “Hot Sauce” Smith under the Strikeforce banner, our good friends at MMAJunkie report. Kennedy (14-4) fell to Luke Rockhold in a Strikeforce middleweight title fight in July and looks to rebound against Smith, whose 10-2 record includes nine wins by submission. Smith dropped his last Strikeforce fight to Gian Villante in 65 seconds via TKO, but that was at the 205-pound class; he and Kennedy will square off at 185 pounds.
2. Carmouche’s next fight. Kennedy won’t be the only fighter with a military background on the mat in Oklahoma City. Former Marine Liz Carmouche will return to the Strikeforce ring to face the unbeaten Sara McMann (6-0). Carmouche (7-2) went 2-0 in the Invicta promotion since her last Strikeforce fight, a decision loss to Sarah Kaufman — the most recent victim in the Ronda Rousey armbar parade.
3. Card subject to change. All that Nov. 3 planning is contingent on a main event, which doesn’t exist yet. Daniel Cormier was set to fight Frank Mir in a heavyweight clash, but Mir’s injury squashed those plans. The recent cancellation of Strikeforce’s scheduled Sept. 29 card in Sacramento indicates the promotion and Showtime, its TV partner, won’t move forward without a bankable main event. If they do move forward, more shuffling could dislodge either Kennedy or Carmouche from their current opponents.
4. Army combatives video. Kennedy went on Spike TV’s “MMA Uncensored Live” recently to promote the fight and talk about his time in the service, specifically how the Army combatives program shapes soldiers in and out of the ring. Catch the full show here, including a short video on the Army program that begins around the 37-minute mark. Speaking of former service members, show co-host Luke Thomas goes former-Marine to former-Marine with Carmouche on his old radio show, “MMA Nation,” here.
5. Stann’s next step. After his decision loss to Michael “The Count” Bisping on Saturday, former Marine Brian Stann’s name has been shuffled below several other middleweights in the quest for a title fight against Anderson Silva. The folks at Sherdog think Bisping could be one win away from a championship bout, but Stann didn’t earn a spot on their traditional post-pay-per-view “matches to make” list.
Stann’s road back to the division’s upper tier could go through the loser of the Chris Weidman-Tim Boetch battle at UFC 155 in December, or could feature a bout with Hector Lombard — a rising star who had been scheduled to face Stann in a Fox-TV fight before Stann’s shoulder injury. Lombard will fight Rousimar Palhares in Australia on Dec. 14 as part of a FUEL TV broadcast. Another wild card suggested by the folks at MMAFrenzy.com — a fight with Vitor Belfort, who gave light heavyweight champ Jon “Bones” Jones” a scare in the UFC 152 main event before falling via fourth-round submission.
