Canadian featherweight Mark (The Machine) Hominick earned a title shot against UFC champion Jose Aldo by knocking out George Roop on the UFC "Fight for the Troops 2" card Saturday night before a crowd of U.S. military personnel at Fort Hood.
Hominick (20-8) used his precise striking to drop the overmatched Roop twice before the referee stepped in one minute 28 seconds into the first round. It was all Hominick right from the get-go, with knockdowns courtesy of both hands.
Hominick had to support Roop (17-8-1) as the staggering loser tried to reach him in the centre of the cage afterwards to congratulate him. The two fighters are friends after having trained together in the past.
The 28-year-old from Thamesford, Ont., will fight Brazil's Aldo for the 145-pound title at UFC 129 on April 30. It will be the second championship bout at Toronto's Rogers Centre - Montreal Georges St-Pierre will defend his welterweight title against Jake Shields in the main event.
"Jose's next. I think he's the best pound for pound (fighter) but he's never faced anyone like me," said Hominick, who improved his UFC record to 3-0.
Hominick faces a tall order. Aldo (18-1) has won his last 11 and he has not lost since November 2005.
The televised card, which took place in a hangar on the army base, served as a fundraiser for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, which helps injured U.S. military veterans and their families. The Canadian broadcast offered reminders to donate to the Canadian Hero Fund (www.herofund.ca).
In the main event, lightweight Melvin (The Young Assassin) Guillard overpowered Evan Dunham in a first-round TKO.
The 27-year-old Guillard (45-9-3 with one no contest) joins a talented array of 155-pound contenders that includes Gray Maynard, George Sotiropoulos, Anthony Pettis, Jim Miller and Clay Guida.
Guillard showed quick hands early before Dunham took him down. But he couldn't keep him there and Guillard took the offensive again. He dropped Dunham with a right before finishing him off with a string of knees. The fight was called at 2:58 of the first round.
"I want my title shot. I'm the dark horse in this game at '55," said Guillard whose uncle was a four-star general. "No disrespect to anybody in my weight class but I am the best 155-pound fighter in the UFC."
Dunham (11-2) was coming off a disputed loss to former lightweight champion Sean (The Muscle Shark) Sherk.
In the co-main event, former NFL lineman Matt Mitrione put on a dominating performance in stopping Edmonton heavyweight Tim (The Thrashing Machine) Hague.
Mitrione (4-0) was quicker to the punch, putting Hague down and fighting off the Canadian's takedown attempts. The 6-3, 260-pound Mitrione dropped Hague with another left and swung away before the referee stopped the onslaught at 2:59 of the first round.
Mitrione said later he might have broken his left hand with the first knockdown.
Hague (12-5) has already been cut twice by the UFC. The six-foot-four 265-pounder, a former kindergarten teacher, may face a third pink slip after dropping to 1-4 in the UFC.
Earlier, heavyweight Pat (HD) Barry punished Joey (The Mexicutioner) Beltran with a string of leg kicks en route to a 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 decision. Beltran shook his head in disagreement as the decision was announced.
An emotional Barry (6-2) paid tribute to his late father after the fight, pulling out his dog tags.
"It's an honour to be able to give a few hours away from your everyday lives, just to relax and sit back. I salute you with both hands," Barry said to the troops.
Barry, who was coming off a loss to Mirko (Cro Cop) Filipovic at UFC 115 in Vancouver in June, took two knees to the groin in the first round and looked at Beltran in disgust as the round ended.
The brawling Beltran (12-5) did well in close but Barry, a former K-1 fighter, began to punish him with leg kicks in the second round. Beltran tried to negate the kicks by crowding Barry at the fence in the third.
The ring doctor looked at Beltran in the third when he was poked in the eye but a squinting Beltran continued. Barry, targeting Beltran's left leg, came on strong in the final minute. Beltran went down at the final bell before a flurry of kicks.
"That dude is a zombie," said Barry. "I kicked him in his face 300 times and I think I beat his leg to death and he was going to keep coming no matter what."
Lightweight (Handsome) Matt Wiman dominated Cole Miller en route to a unanimous decision in a battle of alumni of Season 5 of "The Ultimate Fighter."
At six one, Miller (17-5) had a three-inch height and six-inch reach advantage of Wiman. But the relentless Wiman used his top game on the ground to control the fight and do damage.
The judges scored it 29-28, 30-27, 30-27, prompting a Twitter outburst from UFC president Dana White who could not believe the first judge had awarded a round to Miller.
"One of the judges scored that 29 to 28!!!! That's what I mean, these fighter need to be SCARED when they step in there," tweeted White, calling the 29-28 score "insane."
"Pretty easy fight to score," tweeted UFC vice-president Marc Ratner, a former longtime member of the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Wiman (13-5) has now won three straight and seven of his last nine.
"I left my TV on in my house so my animals could watch this," Wiman said in the cage afterwards.
Rani Yahya (16-6) won a unanimous decision over former WEC featherweight champion Mike Brown, who had hoped a quick turnaround would help erase memories of a loss to Diego Nunes at UFC 125 on Jan. 1. It didn't.
The 35-year-old Brown (24-8) has now lost two in a row and four of his last six.
Veteran lightweight Yves Edwards (40-16-1) choked out submission specialist Cody McKenzie (12-1) in the second round.
Welterweight Charlie (The Spaniard) Brenneman (13-1) won a unanimous decision over Brazilian Amilcar Alves (11-3). In another 170-pound bout, DaMarques Johnson (17-8) stopped Mike Guymon in the first round after Guymon (13-5-1) submitted to a body triangle.