Tim Kennedy, Liz Carmouche Headline Fight Card For Military

By Brandon Boles
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Updated: November 6, 2013

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — The UFC is holding a special fight card Wednesday on base at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where troops in the military will have the opportunity to enjoy a fight card filled with big names throughout multiple divisions. What makes it more special for the card, however, is that the military is another home for some of the UFC’s biggest named fighters who will be on display.

Multiple fighters who served or are active in the military will fight at Fight For The Troops, and two fighters in the co-main and main event will headline the card Wednesday, looking to put on a show in front of others who also joined them in the military.

Tim Kennedy (16-4) headlines the main event on the card in the middleweight division, facing relatively new opponent Rafael Natal (17-4-1). Before his professional career, he was in the military, stationed over in the middle east and put in combat.

During an interview with Sports Illustrated’s Melissa Segura, Kennedy spoke openly about serving as an Army Ranger in the military. He recalls the first time he killed someone, and later admitting to suffering with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Having trouble dealing with his disorder back in the states, he turned to mixed martial arts as a way to cope and still find ways to fight.

In terms of his UFC career, Kennedy is still considered an up-and-comer in the growing middleweight division. Making his debut in the UFC at UFC 162 in July, Kennedy earned an impressive unanimous decision victory over Roger Gracie, who hailed from a family well known in the MMA world. A win over Natal could move him in top 10 consideration for the middleweight division title contention rankings, making him one huge step closer towards his first title shot.

Liz Carmouche (top) looks for a big win in front of fellow military members to move one fight away from title contention Wednesday (Photo Credit/Bleacher Report)

Meanwhile, in the co-main event, Liz Carmouche (8-3) helped make history in the UFC being a part of the first ever women’s fight in UFC history back in February. Despite losing to Ronda Rousey, Carmouche earned the respect of all fight fans and the women’s bantamweight division in the UFC.

But before headlining in the UFC, Carmouche also served for the United States military. She spent five years in the Marines and was a helicopter electrician, serving three tours of duty in the Middle East.

Following her service in the military, Carmouche began her MMA career, where she grew in popularity in the women’s MMA world. Soon after the UFC announced the signing of Rousey and forming the new women’s bantamweight division, Carmouche began a Twitter march to UFC President Dana White to be the champion’s first opponent, which would eventually happen at UFC 157 in February.

After fighting for the title, Carmouche hopes to earn her way back to the top of the division’s contention list, as she faces off with Alexis Davis (14-5) in a battle of top 10 title contenders. Carmouche ranks fourth in the division, while Davis sits in sixth. The winner of this fight could potential move as high as number two on the contention list by the start of 2014.

Fight For The Troops begins with the Facebook preliminary fights at 3:10pm ET, followed by the preliminary card on Fox Sports 1 at 5pm ET. The main card, who will feature military members Kennedy, Carmouche, and Colton Smith, begins at 7pm ET, only on Fox Sports 1.

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(Photo Credit: cagepotato.com)