Featuring “The Tournament of Warriors,” UWF 2 and two subsequent events in Hidalgo (May 26) and a location TBA (June 30) will decide the first-ever UWF tournament winners in the lightweight and welterweight classes. As winners of the first-ever series of its kind to be sanctioned here in Texas, the fighters who make it all the way through their brackets will not only will a cool $25,000 in prize money but will also be crowned as the first ever UWF champion in each of their respective divisions.
First announced little less than a month ago, UWF II has undergone a few changes with a few of the original stated combatants out for one reason or another. These names include former Legacy 170 lbs. champ Mike “The Greek” Bronzoulis, Joseph Daily, Frenchman Patrick Valee, and Warren Stewart. Though their exits are a departure from the original lineup, rest assured the card in its current form still packs the same if not considerably more punch considering some of the replacements that have taken their place.
Most notably as far as name value may go is the inclusion of “Ultimate Fighter” veteran Shamar Bailey. Fighting out of Chicago, Illinois, Bailey competed on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos as the first overall pick for Team dos Santos. He’ll be going into this tournament with 5 Zuffa fights under his belts (2 Strikeforce, 3 UFC) and a chip on his shoulder as he’s also lost 5 out of his last 7. He’ll be facing a tough task right off the bat when he takes on Salvador Bahia, Brazil native Lucas “Baano” Pimenta in the first round of the welterweight bracket.
Another noteworthy fighter joining Pimenta from Gold Team is Flavio “The Legendary” Alvaro. He’ll be entering the tournament on the lightweight side with a record that indicates 14-5 but in all actuality stands at 38-9 if you count his fights contested in his native Brazil. A 7-year veteran of the sport, Flavio has a history of being a tough customer for any that stand across from him. In fact, part of his history includes fighting in bare knuckle vale tudo bouts for the Rio Heroes organization. He’ll be making his Texas debut in this one against another highly-rated opponent in Minnesota Fight Factory’s Marcus “The Prospect” Levesseur.
The rest of the card includes several other highly-traveled fighters and solid prospects including a few names familiar to Texas MMA Circles like Hector Munoz, Gilbert Jimenez, Rey Trujillo, and more.
We’ll be back to cover this tournament in more detail as it draws near. For now, here’s the current lineup for the UWF 2 “Tournament of Champions” opening round as given to TXMMA by event organizers earlier today.
UWF MMA – Lightweight Tournament
Gilbert Jimenez (5-4-1) vs. Scott Cleve (8-2)
Flavio Alvaro (14-5) vs. Marcus Levesseur (21-5)
Rey Trujillo (9-6) vs. Christopher Pecero (4-3)
Julian Lane (3-0) vs. Hector Munoz (10-4)
First Alternate: Victor Hernandez (8-13)
UWF MMA – Welterweight Tournament
Larry Hopkins (3-10) vs. John Malbrough (3-2)
Mitchell Whitesel (19-20) vs. Chuck Parmalee (33-13)
Shamar Bailey (13-6) vs. Lucas Pimenta (5-0)
Justin Gutherie (14-4) vs. Jonathon Knutson (9-4)
First Alternate: Rico Washington (14-7)