Lost amid some of the other news emanating from New York City over the past few hours was the official word from the UFC that Green Beret Tim Kennedy's fight set for Saturday against Rashad Evans at New York's Madison Square Garden is officially off.
Evans, hoping to reignite his career by dropping to the 185-pound weight class, was pulled from the bout because of an undisclosed medical issue. Kennedy and Evans both will receive their purse for the fight, according to the statement, but despite some last-minute online recruiting from Kennedy ...
... there are no plans for a replacement opponent or fight.
The move will extend Kennedy's two-year absence from the UFC cage, which began after a controversial 2014 loss to Yoel Romero. The Texas Army National Guardsman has an 18-5 career mark and is 3-1 in the UFC, including an April 2014 win over reigning UFC 185-pound champ Michael Bisping.
The Madison Square Garden card won't be without a military presence, however, as Marine veteran Liz Carmouche battles Katlyn Chookagian in one of two scheduled preliminary bouts available on UFC Fight Pass, the promotion's online-streaming service.
WSOF SHUFFLE
Saturday initially had a much larger military MMA presence, with four former service members set to square off in three fights under the World Series of Fighting banner as part of a nationally televised card from Loveland, Colorado.
The bouts were to be part of the promotion's "Who's the Toughest?" program, in which WSOF talent scouts sought out up-and-coming MMA fighters with military experience. Marine veterans Shane Kruchten and Jeremy Mahon were set to square off, with former Marine Brandon Collins and former Army Ranger Nicholi Navarro also on the card.
But the entire card, as well as the promotion's next scheduled event, were canceled, with the promotion restacking its deck to load up a Dec. 31 card in New York City that will feature four title fights. The move allows the promotion to avoid competition from Saturday's UFC event as well as reshuffle its main events after an injury to its heavyweight titleholder, Blagoy Ivanov.
Krutchen (11-4) and Mahon (5-4) will fight at a 150-pound catchweight at the event in a bout still labeled as a "Who's the Toughest?" contest in the organization's news release.
HEAVYWEIGHT HEADS OVERSEAS
While UFC 205 and its shockwaves have kept the MMA world busy, a former Minnesota Army National Guard member is preparing to do battle on the first UFC card after the New York super-show.
Tim Johnson (10-2, 2-1 UFC) will battle the 6-foot-7 Alexander Volkov at UFC Fight Night 99 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Nov. 19. It will be Volkov's debut in the promotion; the Russian, a former Bellator heavyweight champion, brings a 26-6 career record.
It will be Johnson's second fight in a row in Europe -- he beat Marcin Tybura in Croatia via decision in April. It will also be the former sergeant's first fight since separating from service; he told Military Times in an interview shortly after the fight announcement that he hoped to resume his Army career in the future, but wanted to focus his energy on MMA training while he's in position to climb the UFC ladder.
The entire card will stream on the Fight Pass service. It's the first of two UFC events on Nov. 19, with the second set for Sao Paulo, Brazil, that night.
Kevin Lilley is the features editor of Military Times.
