THE TORCH: THE #1 WORLDWIDE BRAND IN COMBAT ENTERTAINMENT COVERAGE - OVER 250 MILLION VIEWS & LISTENS PER YEAR REREACHING MORE FANS EVERY WEEK THAN ANY OTHER INDEPENDENT SOURCE • VIA THE WEB, MOBILE, PRINT NEWSLETTER, AND ITUNES
The UFC's expected first card in British Columbia, CA, continues to fill out with the addition of two more solid matchups that are in the works for the June 12th event from the GM Place in Vancouver. According to separate published reports, welterweights Martin Kampmann and Paulo Thiago are expected to meet on the card, as are lightweights Matt Wiman and Mac Danzig.
News of the Kampmann-Thiago development comes from The Las Vegas Sun, who reports that Kampmann is close to signing a deal for the fight. He was supposed to face Ben Saunders at this month's UFC 111 event in NJ before suffering a nasty cut above his eye in training that forced him out of the event.
Kampmann most recently got back in the winner's column after a TKO loss to Paul Daley by submitting Jacob Volkmann in the first round in January. Thiago has now won three of four bouts after taking out Mike Swick by slick second round submission in his last fight. His lone loss came to Jon Fitch by decision at UFC 100.
Season six Ultimate Fighter winner Mac Danzig earned himself a longer stay in the UFC by picking up his first victory in his last four fights, defeating Justin Bucholz by unanimous decision at UFC 109 last month. Wiman as well broke a losing streak in his last fight, earning a decision over Shane Nelson in December to end a two fight skid. The two have agreed to meet each other per a report at MMAJunkie.com.
UFC 115 is expected to be headlined by the third bout between Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz following the conclusion of their stint as coaches on the eleventh season of The Ultimate Fighter.
Penick's Analysis: The Kampmann-Thiago fight is a very solid welterweight fight, but feels almost like a backwards step for Thiago, and that's not meant as a slight to Kampmann. However, with the rest of the top fighters in the division locked up in fights set to come by this summer, it's a fight that makes sense to keep both busy. Thiago should be considered the favorite in this fight, and Kampmann's going to need a top notch performance in this one. It should be a very good fight, though.
The Wiman-Danzig matchup makes a lot of sense considering where both lightweights stand in the UFC's lightweight division. Danzig wasn't overly impressive in the fight with Bucholz, but that was more to Bucholz upping his game, I believe than it was a statement on Danzig. He also had a layoff that he had to get over and he performed well given the circumstances. This isn't an easy fight for either guy, and it should be an enjoyable and competitive bout for the fans in Vancouver.
ALERT: Every Tuesday night, listen to the MMATorch Livecast from 9-10:30 p.m. ET or listen now to the most recent shows by clicking here. Listen live this coming Tuesday as Jamie Penick, Rich Hansen, and Matt Pelkey discuss the latest MMA happenings. Online listen at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mmatorch or call into the show at 646-716-8090 to either just listen or participate.
"There's still a large contingent of people, that they just want to see these guys almost die, or the other guy almost die and come back, and sometimes fights are like that. Certainly they are. But sometimes you get technical masterpieces too, and to hate a beautiful, technical fight - you're not really a fight fan...
Diaz has a granite chin, possesses perhaps the best recovery in the sport, his pace and conditioning are second to none and he sets records with the volume of his punches almost every time he steps into the cage. Nick Diaz is simply designed to fight the way he fights, and not many other fighters are...
"There was a lot of poison going on around there and I'm really disappointed because we had a good thing going. It was a good thing and I think people's egos got in the way. Well, not people just Javier, his ego got in the way, and too many cameras in the gym and him trying to build himself up and his brand, his AKA brand...
PART OF THE USA TODAY UFC GROUP