UFC: Fight for the Troops 2
| Industry | Mixed martial arts event |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2011-01-22 |
| Headquarters | Killeen, Texas , United States |
| Parent | Ultimate Fighting Championship |
UFC: Fight for the Troops 2—also referred to as UFC Fight Night 23—was a mixed martial arts competition organized by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on January 22, 2011. The event took place at Fort Hood, located near Killeen, Texas. This marked the third occasion the UFC collaborated with a US military installation, following the precedents set by UFC Fight Night 7 and UFC: Fight for the Troops.
Background
Initially, the headline bout was set to feature Kenny Florian against Evan Dunham at UFC 126, but it was rescheduled for this event. Florian later withdrew owing to a knee injury. Consequently, Melvin Guillard, who was originally slated to face Yves Edwards on the preliminary card, stepped in to replace Florian against Dunham. This adjustment led Edwards to compete against Cody McKenzie, a competitor from TUF 12.
The matchup between Mike Swick and David Mitchell was called off due to injuries and Swick’s esophageal condition. Their fight was substituted by a last-minute contest between Will Campuzano and Chris Cariaso. Additionally, the lightweight fight between Cole Miller and Matt Wiman, which had been planned for UFC 125, was also postponed to this show.
Rani Yahya was scheduled to battle Chan Sung Jung, but Jung withdrew because of injury and was replaced by Mike Brown.
On January 11, 2011, UFC President Dana White declared that if Mark Hominick defeated George Roop, he would secure a featherweight championship opportunity against titleholder José Aldo at UFC 129.
Later, on January 18, Dana White announced that preliminary bouts featuring McKenzie vs. Edwards and Johnson vs. Guymon would be available for free streaming on UFC’s official Facebook platform. On the night of the event, UFC.com extended complimentary access to prelim fights including those between Freire vs. Lowe and Brown vs. Yahya.
Results
{{MMAevent bout |Lightweight |Yves Edwards |def. |Cody McKenzie |Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) |2 |4:33 |} {{MMAevent bout |Welterweight |DaMarques Johnson |def. |Mike Guymon |Verbal Submission (body triangle) |1 |3:22 |} {{MMAevent bout |Featherweight |Rani Yahya |def. |Mike Brown |Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28) |3 |5:00 |} {{MMAevent bout |Lightweight |Waylon Lowe |def. |Willamy Freire |Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) |} {{MMAevent bout |Welterweight |Charlie Brenneman |def. |Amilcar Alves |Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) |} {{MMAevent bout |Bantamweight |Chris Cariaso |def. |Will Campuzano |Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) |}
Bonus Awards
The competitors listed below each earned a $30,000 bonus:
- Fight of the Night: Yves Edwards vs. Cody McKenzie
- Knockout of the Night: Melvin Guillard
- Submission of the Night: Yves Edwards