A welterweight bout between contenders Rick “The Horror” Story and Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann is in the works for UFC 139 on November 19th in San Jose, California. Both fighters will look to rebound from decision losses. Verbal agreements are in place for the bout, which was announced today.
Story stepped in on short notice to face Nate “The Great” Marquardt in June, but was upset by late replacement Charlie “The Spaniard” Brenneman after Marquardt was forced off of the card. Kampmann has dropped two straight decisions inside the UFC, but neither outcome was without controversy.
Story (13-4-0) opened his career with just one victory in three fights, but he went on to win six straight bouts and defeated current top contender Jake “The Juggernaut” Ellenberger along the way. Story has maintained an active schedule inside the Octagon and rebounded from a loss in his UFC debut with another six-fight winning streak. It was not until May that Story really put himself on the map as a future star, however, as he earned a clear-cut decision win over former title challenger Thiago “Pitbull” Alves. Story’s momentum hit a speed bump against Brenneman in June.
Kampmann (17-5-0) has faced ups and downs during his time in the UFC, and equally mixed results since dropping down to 170 pounds. He is 3-3 in his last six fights, with big victories over “The Natural Born Killer” Carlos Condit, Jacob “Christmas” Volkmann and Paulo Thiago, but has suffered razor-thin decision losses in each of his last two bouts. Many observers felt that Kampmann had done enough to defeat former Strikeforce and EliteXC champion Jake Shields in October, and Kampmann’s loss to Diego “The Dream” Sanchez in May was similarly contentious.
With both fighters now looking to get back in the title hunt, a win for either will be pivotal. Story’s strong wrestling background and ground and pound skills will match up against Kampmann’s technical striking and submission abilities in an interesting clash of styles.
UFC 139 takes place on November 19th at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. Cain Velasquez will defend the UFC Heavyweight Championship against Junior “Cigano” dos Santos in the main event.
(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)