Mark “The Machine” Hominick looks to put an end to a three-fight losing streak when he faces submission specialist Pablo “The Scarecrow” Garza at UFC 154 on November 17th in Montréal, Québec, Canada. UFC officials announced the featured featherweight matchup earlier today.
UFC 154 is expected to be headlined by a UFC Welterweight Championship unification bout between Georges “Rush” St. Pierre and “The Natural Born Killer” Carlos Condit, pending St. Pierre’s recovery from knee surgery. Also on the card, Francis “Limitless” Carmont battles “Filthy” Tom Lawlor.
Hominick (20-11-0) amassed five straight wins over formidable opposition to earn a shot at the UFC Featherweight Championship in April 2011, but despite a strong final round, he came up short on the judges’ scorecards. After the tragic loss of long-time coach and mentor Shawn Tompkins, Hominick returned to action in December and was stopped by “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung in just seven seconds. The disappointing loss removed Hominick from the immediate title picture. He stepped back into the cage at UFC 145 in April and suffered a Split Decision setback to Eddie “The Filipino Phenom” Yagin. Now potentially on the brink of being cut from the UFC, the talented kickboxer needs a big win over Garza in order to secure his spot on the roster.
Garza (11-3-0) also enters the fight coming off of losses in his most recent fights, but his aggressive and fan-friendly style has led to multiple bonuses during his short UFC tenure. Garza debuted inside the Octagon with highlight-reel flying knee and flying triangle choke victories over Fredson Paixao and Yves “Tiger” Jabouin, respectively, before suffering a second-round submission loss to former contender Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier. In May, Garza battled TUF 14 alum Dennis “The Menace” Bermudez to a hard-fought Unanimous Decision loss at UFC on FOX 3. Like Hominick, Garza may also need a win in order to stick around inside the promotion, but his crafty submission game could be enough to propel him to victory against the Canadian.
Carmont (19-7-0) remains relatively unknown to the North American audience, but he is quietly building a name for himself inside the Octagon. Currently riding an eight-fight winning streak that includes three UFC victories, Carmont is looking to continue his gradual rise up the middleweight ranks with another key win in November. He has finished 16 of his opponents to date and is coming off of back-to-back second-round submission triumphs. This past month, the French-born Carmont defeated Karlos “The Terminator” Vemola at UFC on Fuel TV 4.
Lawlor (8-4-0, 1 NC) was seemingly one loss away from receiving his walking papers from the UFC in 2010, but the charismatic middleweight has rallied back with wins in two of his past three fights. Those victories came against solid opposition in the form of Patrick “The Predator” Côté and Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald. Lawlor’s lone loss in over two years came in November when he was choked out by undefeated rising star “All-American” Chris Weidman. Lawlor sports a well-rounded skillset and will take a step up towards contention if he can get past Carmont.
UFC 154 takes place on November 17th at the Bell Centre in Montréal, Québec, Canada. The event is expected to be headlined by a UFC Welterweight Championship unification bout between Georges “Rush” St. Pierre and interim titleholder “The Natural Born Killer” Carlos Condit.
(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)