Just days after submitting cast-mate Aaron Wilkinson at the TUF 12 Finale, Cody McKenzie has agreed to face Yves Edwards at UFC Fight for the Troops 2 in January as a replacement for Melvin Guillard, who moved up to the main event slot against Evan Dunham, according to MMA Junkie.
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war McKenzie
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by TylerTreese on Dec 7, 2010 1:09 PM EST reply actions 6 recs
This actually sucks.
Because one of them has to lose. If Yves loses he will probably get cut for losing to a inexperienced no-namer. If McKenzie loses he will probably get cut for losing to a guy who is so inconsistent at the lower end of the division.
I doubt they'd cut McKenzie that quick if he loses
Maybe one more fight on the prelims. Especially if it’s FOTN.
But dude REALLY has to work on his cardio cause I’m sure Yves Edwards watched the same Nam Phan/Cody McKenzie fight that we saw
They made a video game about Yakuzas. It’s called Yakuza. And it’s about Yakuza
Guillotine Defense!!!! Guillotine Defense!!!!
p.s. Cody will try for a guillotine….. shhhh….. don’t tell Yves and he will never know.
by Brandon Starr on Dec 7, 2010 1:14 PM EST up reply actions
Plus McKenzie is doing them a solid by taking the fight on short notice. They almost never cut guys who step up like that.
by Verklemptomaniac on Dec 7, 2010 2:01 PM EST up reply actions
Yea
There’s no way this hurts Mckenzies status w ufc since he’s doing them a solid.
by Bloodsport on Dec 7, 2010 2:09 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
You don’t get cut for being a replacement, and realisticly I dont think Dana expects Cody to win, Yves has a way better chance at making a title run(although it may be slim) and if he gets a win over Mckenzie it will help just due to him being on TUF and no one but the Hcores really knowing who Yves is. Another reason this is either for Cody to make money as fast as possible while he is in the UFC or just a personal goal to beat one of the top LW’s from the past.
Some guys do get cut despite fighting on short notice. However, McKenzie does not have a checkered past, he has a bit of pull with the fans following TUF, just won a fight, doesn’t cost much, and can even fight at two weight classes. In short, he has a lot of upside, and is unlikely to get cut for a first loss unless he acts up outside the octagon.
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If he gets demolished it’s not going to help him. I mean, they’ll appreciate him stepping up late…but getting crushed doesn’t help anyone’s career.
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by Brent Brookhouse on Dec 7, 2010 3:30 PM EST up reply actions
Sure, yes, if Edwards mauls him bloody, I see what you’re saying. And I don’t discount the possibility of McKenzie getting mauled bloody here. But I really see this, overall, as a low risk/high reward situation for him. If he loses bad, he still gets another fight, and because he did Joe Silva a solid, he’ll probably get a winnable fight. If he loses and doesn’t get mauled, he gets the rub of hanging with a quality veteran, and still probably gets a winnable follow-up fight.
And in the unlikely event that he wins… well, that’s a fairly huge boost for his career.
In the meantime, he gets two paydays in about a month.
by Verklemptomaniac on Dec 7, 2010 4:29 PM EST up reply actions
Two paydays in a month is good for anybody
They made a video game about Yakuzas. It’s called Yakuza. And it’s about Yakuza
by Krimson on Dec 7, 2010 4:41 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Plus from a development standpoint
Even if he loses, it’ll be a huge learning experience from him to step up and face a seasoned veteran like Yves.
If McKenzie is going to have consistent success
I think it has to be as a late replacement in most of his fights.
He’s only going to win by catching guys in his guillotine, so he’ll benefit tremendously from fighting guys who haven’t had a training camp devoted to facing him.
I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.
He needs to master one more really slick sub. Just drill the absolute dog shit out of it.
Then win 12 in a row with it. Then his guillotine will be a surprise again :)
by Brandon Starr on Dec 7, 2010 1:15 PM EST up reply actions 7 recs
ha that’s true didn’t think of that. usually jumping in as a late replacement is a disadvantage but for Cody its actually an advantage. He just needs to maintain weight around events and hope someone bails in his weightclass the days leading up to it and that guillioutine of his will pay a lot of bills
I don’t think McKenzie has much of a future in the sport (one-trick ponies can only make it so far before people figure them out), but I love his attitude.
…before people figure them out
Mckenzie had 9 straight wins by Guillotine going into his last fight, and Wilkinson still hadn’t figured him out.
Guys can get away with it on the local circuit because no one has film on them, and most opponents don’t do training camps specifically tailored for them. Once you reach the top level, guys start to gameplan against your tendencies. Obviously, Wilkinson did not do that. He just sat there with his neck in danger for the entire fight.
Yeah...
people are also buying into Wilkinson as some sort of real threat rather than mediocre TUF fodder.
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by Brent Brookhouse on Dec 7, 2010 2:07 PM EST up reply actions
I prefer to think that McKenzie has some kind of black magic voodoo power. It is a much more fun theory.
Guillotine.
by iiowyn on Dec 7, 2010 3:00 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
Atleast its someone who should know how to defend a guillotine
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I would think
his last five opponents would have had that figured out too….
by Brandon Starr on Dec 7, 2010 1:19 PM EST up reply actions
Yea that shit blows my mind
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Thisredengine and Marta Gallo happily married June 2012
McKenzie
Must have balls approximately the size of the Wall Street Bull to take a short-notice fight against a Thugjistu Master
by milkwasabadchoice on Dec 7, 2010 1:19 PM EST reply actions 5 recs
Thats how they breed em up there in Alaska. Wall St. Bull sized bizzalls.
They made a video game about Yakuzas. It’s called Yakuza. And it’s about Yakuza
Whoa
All right McKenzie.
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Is Ryan Hall a one trick pony? Now, I’m not saying McKenzie is near his level, but the situation is similar. He seems to be able to hit a variation of his specialty move from a bunch of different positions, kind of similar to the different triangle chokes Hall implements. Drill to win, it’s obvious he has practiced and perfected his guillotine and he wins because of it. It would be a shame to see him deviate from what he does best to appease fans. Sure he should learn defenses in all areas of the game, but there’s just something about having one thing down pat and using that as your reliable go-to-demolish-anyone move.
Not an apt comparison
Hall prefers his many variations of triangle, but has always won by more than just triangle. he also has solid BJJ through and through, from his sweeps, to his transitions. Mckenzie has made it obvious his goal is to throw out that guillotine like his life depends on it, because past that he has nothing else. He is by definition, a one trick pony.
"I’m anti-stalling, not anti-wrestling." - lowellthehammer
Tough fight for McKenzie. I know that the guillotine is cool and whatnot, and while others like Joe “Daddy” Stevenson has found great success with that move as well, you just can’t expect it to work everytime after a while especially as a fighter moves up the ladder, and I feel the same way about Paul Sass and the Sassangle. I expect Edwards to take this pretty handily to be honest. It’s not that I don’t like McKenzie because I am a fan of his, but I have to be realistic about it.
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It saddens me as an MMA fan that there are people who think McKenzie has a shot against Yves Edwards
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by Brent Brookhouse on Dec 7, 2010 1:34 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
Let me clarify…this isn’t Aaron Wilkinson, a guy who came into the fight at 6-3 having been submitted 3 times prior. This is Yves Edwards…39-16-1. Submitted 4 times in his career. In 2006 by Mark Hominick, in 2000 to Rumina Sato, in 1999 to Nate Marquardt and 1998 against Fabiano Iha.
I’m sorry if I don’t really find the idea that “this is MMA and anything can happen” to mean “realistic possibility”
McKenzie is a one-trick guy with awful stand-up and really shady cardio who couldn’t handle a featherweight on TUF. …not seeing it.
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by Brent Brookhouse on Dec 7, 2010 1:47 PM EST up reply actions
It's funny because I lived in Washington most of my childhood and when I thought "Spokane"
a picture of Cody McKenzie (or someone that looked like him) would pop into my head. I have no idea why I am telling you this. You’re welcome.
by Brandon Starr on Dec 7, 2010 1:49 PM EST up reply actions
Im from Spokane, and the same here. haha
"Everyone has a game plan, untell they get hit." -Mike Tyson
Its so weird Marquardt used to be 155 and now he’s just a beheamoth.
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What the...I mean I agree with ya...
but…can you say that??
Shady Cardio?
Are you basing that on TUF? His cardio should be much better for any fight outside of the TUF house, having a proper training camp and more than 1 week in between fights, along with not having to live in that crazy house makes a big difference. I don’t expect him to try and stand with Yves. He’s going to immediately go for the takedown, just like he did against Wilkinson. Then we’ll see if he can get him down, or catch him in something during the struggle/scramble.
Yves is still a solid favorite to win, but I’m not going to be a dick about it like you. It “saddens” you that people think he has a shot? Give me a fucking break. Yves just lost (in May) to Mike Campbell, an 8-3 fighter with no other quality wins on his record, who is only a BJJ blue belt with no wrestling base. Yves is not this unbeatable monster you make him out to be, he’s an aging fighter on the decline. It shouldn’t “sadden” you at all that some MMA fans think McKenzie has a “shot”.
by IWillPartyHard on Dec 7, 2010 4:02 PM EST up reply actions 4 recs
For what it's worth,
the Yves/Campbell fight was very close and many writers/bloggers scored the bout for Yves, including Chris Nelson who was there live reporting for BE.
Have you seen that fight?
was this the Moosin fight?
Because I thought Yves won the fight in Moosin.
@TylerTreese on twitter
www.thatmmablog.blogspot.com/
just used fight finder
and it is from Moosin. yeah I thought he won it but it was close.
@TylerTreese on twitter
www.thatmmablog.blogspot.com/
I know it was close
It goes to show that Yves has close fights with unspectacular competition. It “saddens” me that Brookhouse is hating on any MMA fans that think McKenzie at least has a shot against Yves, especially since us MMA fans who think he has a shot are basing it on sound logic like Yves performance in fights in the past year.
by IWillPartyHard on Dec 7, 2010 6:43 PM EST up reply actions
You can settle down, for starters.
If you think that McKenzie, a clear one trick pony, will catch Yves (a guy with a ton of experience) with the one thing he has ever shown to be able to do reliably despite Edwards having no history of being susceptible to obvious submissions…that’s fine. I’ll still find it sad and I’ll remain fairly certain this is because everyone has a bunch of love for Cody based on TUF more than reality.
Yves is far from unbeatable for most guys, he’s pretty close to unbeatable a guy like McKenzie..
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by Brent Brookhouse on Dec 7, 2010 10:08 PM EST up reply actions
Really? Settle down? C'mon
What I said up there gets me a warning? I didn’t attack you or anyone personally, and didn’t use any profanity. I just said saddens, as I was trying to defend those of us who think McKenzie has a shot. If anything was inflammatory it was your original comment, the tone of which implies you think anyone who believes McKenzie has a shot is ignorant and or stupid to the point that it makes you sad.
Back to the issue at hand. We have seen so little of McKenzie that it’s hard to say what he can or cannot do. I doubt he’ll catch Yves in a guillotine, but he has a shot considering how proficient he is at them. Beyond that, Yves hasn’t show me anything recently that tells me he could dominate anyone, so I think it’s fair to say that anyone who fights Yves has a shot.
by IWillPartyHard on Dec 7, 2010 10:24 PM EST up reply actions
Well technically he does have a shot. In January (did you even read this article Brent?) Who said he's going to win though?
I think more people are worried about Edwards showing his inconsistency then there are people that actually believe in their hearts that McKenzie will win.
by Brandon Starr on Dec 7, 2010 1:47 PM EST up reply actions
He doesn't
But its a fun story.
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Jumping Knee vs Guillotine!
It’s more about the respect for McKenzie than about his chances of winning. To say he sacked up would be an understatement.
i wanna see
McKenzietine vs Sassangle
11 guillotine out of 12 wins vs 8 triangles out of 11 wins
Nothing but RESPECT for Matt "The Terror" Serra
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Two guys simultaneously trying to pull guard
could at least make for some interesting comedy.
by Verklemptomaniac on Dec 7, 2010 2:04 PM EST up reply actions
Scissor me timbers!

"We have all had to watch Brock Lesnar fart around. That guy is an embarrassment. God damn, you get to hand pick his opponents for him for a while then someone who is a half way decent athlete comes along and hits him once and he pisses his pants and runs. If he wasn't in a cage he would still be running."
-Don Frye
by dgonz on Dec 7, 2010 2:57 PM EST up reply actions 5 recs
Lol'd at this one = )
"But I was like "I don't know how they do things where you guys are from, but I dont think monogamy is legal in this country."
He has a TKO and a triangle.
And then God created Saturn... and he liked it, so he put a ring on it.
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I actually believe the Deadliest Catch has alot of potential.
Guys only 22, has had experience with top coaches on The Ultimate Fighter. He has obviously shown some good submission skills which would make him a problem for anybody trying to take him down. If he can get in with a real team, get some experience, I bet he would get alot better.
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I obviously don’t know him personally. Having said that, I think he probably doesn’t have the mentality to be anything more then gatekeeper level. More likely he is going to lose his next 2-3 matches and we will never hear about him again.
That is likely too
But I think its too early to tell either way because we haven’t seen much from the guy. I hope for the former because I’m a huge fan of the guy. But too write off a 22 year old fighter for being a one trick pony is rediculous.Stefan Struve has suffered to brutal losses in the UFC. But after both fights he has come back strong and he is showing constant improvement standing and with his guard. If the McKenzie was 30 I would probably write him off too. But he is only 22 and I think that gives him tons of room for improvement. Now its just a matter if he takes the opportunity.
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by sitnam90 on Dec 7, 2010 2:24 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I wouldn’t say I am writing him off completely. And certainly not for being a one trick pony. I think he is unlikely to fight at the upper echelons of the UFC because he seems to have to wrong mentality. He’s admitted that he isn’t interested in changing his training camp for example. He strikes me as the kind of guy who isn’t interested in game plans, eating right, or spending a bunch of effort on improving his cardio.
Oh I agree
The key to him improving is to get to a real camp. Amir Sadollah hasn’t been terrific in his run, but he has been steadily improving because he has showed the willingness to go to Xtreme Couture, to go to Golden Glory, etc.
Dear audio diary: Today I may have accidentally registered myself as a sex offender! WHAT IS WRONG WITH MY LIFE
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by sitnam90 on Dec 7, 2010 3:22 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Edwards is going to destroy McKenzie
I suffer from IBS, otherwise known as "Influx of Billick Syndrome".
i still like my idea of mckenzie vs Zhang Tie Quan better
mckenzies 22 and is a one trick pony. yves has been in the game for years and wont get guillotined
dont really like mckenzies chances here
"I have smoked weed with alot of UFC champions" - Joe Rogan
Love me some Cody
But the guy has to fill out that frame. I read he walks around at 152 lbs. Ask Dustin Hazlett about fighting at your actual weight.
"Wait why didn't I kill that motherfvker"
ask frankie edgar about it too....
"I have smoked weed with alot of UFC champions" - Joe Rogan
by milk72 on Dec 7, 2010 2:18 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Cody isn’t Frankie Edgar, and he probably never will be. Plus, I think Edger will drop a weight class when he loses the belt.
thats very true
and dont hold your breath on that as much as i’d like to see it, im calling an edgar victory over lay praynard, i had nate diaz beating maynard and honestly have never been overly impressed with the guy outside of his takedowns
"I have smoked weed with alot of UFC champions" - Joe Rogan
Those takedowns are why he beat Edgar
But I really hope Edgar can use him movement to get the upset…again. His striking looked great vs Penn, now its just a matter of if his wrestling has gotten good enough.
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by sitnam90 on Dec 7, 2010 2:35 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I think that Edgar is a smart fighter, and that he probably learned a lot from his loss to Maynard. I think he probably has spend hundreds of hours working on patching the holes that Maynard exploited in their first bout. It wouldn’t surprise me if Edgar beat Maynard.
That being said, it’s only a matter of time before someone figures out how to counter Edgars style, and when they do their going to be bigger and stronger than him. At that point he is going to be in trouble.
it’s way easier to have success while being undersized when you’re short and stacked so you can at least come close to matching core strength with larger guys. Frankie Edgar, Urijah Faber and Rashad Evans are built much more athletically and resiliently than the lanky stringbean guys
a life: it's the shit that happens while you're waiting for moments that never come -Lester Freamon
by eastcoastatlas on Dec 7, 2010 2:57 PM EST up reply actions
and he said he will go to featherweight on tuf aftermath
so i guess he will eventually go down to featherweight
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Ninjas...Dayumn.
That’s all I’m gonna say.
They made a video game about Yakuzas. It’s called Yakuza. And it’s about Yakuza
I was actually looking forward to Guillard vs Edwards.
Cody’s stand up and cardio are C- at best. I predict a +500 line or worse for McKenzie despite his guillotine.
You are all UFC plants.
You have a sweater made of Cody McKenzie’s chest hair?
by frosnt1 on Dec 7, 2010 5:55 PM EST up reply actions 3 recs
Kid's got balls
Huge jump in experience for him, but I’m excited to see it.
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Russel Brand?
"But I was like "I don't know how they do things where you guys are from, but I dont think monogamy is legal in this country."
No one mentioned that he does his guillotine differently than other guys
The technique was discussed on a few of the Aftermath shows. In the post fight interview he told Rogan that he thinks he could break a jaw with it, which is not standard by any stretch of the imagination.
In fact when British tapped it looked more like he did it because of a threat of a broken jaw, not going to sleep. Add to the many different positions he attempted it from and I think that he may continue to pull it off for a few more fights.
It’s pretty tough to avoid going to the ground all together in any fight nowadays and it looked like Wilkinson didn’t really have a choice in the matter once he got to the mat, so I’m just going to give Mckenzie credit for being freakishly good at what he does and I’m not going to write him off in any fight from here on out.
Luke Nelson
Your name confuses me.
As to Cody-Yves, any guesses as to the line? From the posts in this thread, you’d think that Cody would be a +700 pick?
Being overrated is overrated.
I think English tapped to avoid a dislocated jaw
If Cody gets latched onto your head with his long, boney, hairy arms, he’s going to squeese and hope for the best.
Perhaps the same jaw nerve that leads to KOs can be exploited by a mandible crank.
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I think cody’s nickname needs to be “the french revolutionist”, cos he snaps of everyones neck :)
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