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November 6th is a landmark day for MMA. UFC middleweight and U.S. Army member Tim Kennedy has the honor of fighting in front of his fellow troops as part of the UFC's Fight For The Troops special. The three-hour broadcast doubles as a fundraiser for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, which supports the men and women serving our country in the United States Armed Forces.
Kennedy is taking on 27-year-old Rafael Nadal, known to many as one of the greatest tennis players of all-time. He's won 8 French Open titles and an additional 5 other Grand Slam titles in Wimbledon, US Open, and the Australian Open. He's essentially unbeatable on a clay surface, but can he handle the Octagon? This is a truly remarkable opportunity for the UFC to have such a gifted athlete transition into MMA so quickly even though he's already active (and dominating) in another sport.
Oops ... hang on a minute ... never mind. It's actually Brazil's Rafael Natal taking on Kennedy, having won 5 of his last 6 bouts including 3 in a row this year. Natal is replacing Lyoto Machida, who is off to Manchester to face Mark Munoz in about two weeks. Even with the short notice appearance, Natal vs. Kennedy will still be a five-round main event, which is a first for Natal and a third for former Strikeforce contender Kennedy.
Co-headlining this special event is Liz Carmouche against Alexis Davis in a key women's bantamweight bout. You'll hear of several fighters throughout the card who are active members of the military, including TUF 16 winner Colton Smith, who faces Michael Chiesa. Perhaps the best fight on the main card is between lightweights Jorge Masvidal and Rustam Khabilov.
The main card airs live on Fox Sports 1, ditto for four of the prelims, with the remaining bouts broadcast on Foxsports.com:
Main Card (FS1, 7 PM ET/4 PM PT)
Tim Kennedy vs. Rafael Natal
Liz Carmouche vs. Alexis Davis
Ronny Markes vs. Yoel Romero
Jorge Masvidal vs. Rustam Khabilov
Colton Smith vs. Michael Chiesa
Preliminary Card (FS1, 5 PM ET/2 PM PT)
James Krause vs. Bobby Green
George Roop vs. Francisco Rivera
Dennis Bermudez vs. Steven Siler
Amanda Nunes vs. Germaine de Randamie
Preliminary Card (Foxsports.com, 3:15 PM ET/12:15 PM PT)
Chris Camozzi vs. Lorenz Larkin
Yves Edwards vs. Yancy Medeiros
Neil Magny vs. Seth Baczynski
Derek Brunson vs. Brian Houston
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