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By: Chris Park, MMATorch UK Specialist
This Saturday Night at Troxy, East London, Dean "The Renegade" will enter the ring as the UCMMA No.1 contender, aiming to leave as the new 170 lb. champion when he faces John McGuire at UCMMA: Face Off.
As a predominant member of Team UK, Amasinger left The Ultimate Fighter house back in 2009 and went on to win back-to-back first round submission victories before the year was out. This run, coupled with his impact on TUF, was enough to warrant a shot a reigning UCMMA champion Alberto Mina.
The fight took place in London, in February 2010 with Amasinger losing the fight via TKO. It was clear the Team Rough House fighter was not his usually fast and effective self and the fallout of the event showed exactly why.
During the first round of the bout with Mina, Amasinger suffered a break to his arm blocking a head-kick, similar to the break Rich Franklin suffered against Chuck Liddell. While Franklin was able to land the killer blow on Liddell before the round was out, Amasinger was forced to battle through his pain until the third before the arm prevented him from being able to defend himself any longer.
It was his comeback fight against Jermaine Facey that has put Amasinger back into contention, and while that victory may not have been the prettiest fight to watch, there were a number of positives to be drawn from it.
Not only did Amasinger comeback from a nine month layoff but the opening exchanges of the fight saw him absorb a huge shot that put The Renegade in extreme danger. Forced to dig deep, Amasinger stated the mental image of his new-born daughter gave him the strength he needed to see out the round.
"[The Jermain Facey fight] wasn't a performance I was happy with but after some time to reflect there are a lot of positives to take from the fight," Amasinger said of that performance. "I worked my way back from a tough spot in the first round and went onto dominate the next two rounds.
"I also didn't appreciate the effect that ring rust would have so now that I have crossed that bridge I can look forward and get back to putting on exciting performances."
One year on from the loss to Alberto Mina and Amasinger is back and this time it is reigning champion John McGuire who stands between The Renegade and his first world title.
Speaking ahead of the bout with MMATorch, Amasinger was in full confidence: "I have never been more ready, I don't think I've ever been so up for a fight. I'm ready to go now. I should have won that belt the first time round and he's going to have to kill me to stop me winning it this time."
UCMMA: Face Off is live this Saturday February 5 at Troxy East London. For more information and ticket options visit www.ucmma.com
The event will then be shown on February 9 on Sky Sports 3 at 10pm.
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Chris Park is the MMATorch UK Specialist and guest columnist at ESPN.co.uk. Please email any comments or questions to Chris at; mmatorchuk@gmail.com or look us up at http://www.facebook.com/mmatorchuk2 our new MMATorch Facebook home for UK Fans!
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