The Facebook Stream Of "Fight For The Troops 2" Prelims Gets A Late Boost With Two New Fights

You wanted more free fights? The UFC is happy to oblige. Whether it’s Spike TV, ION Television, or on the internet, the UFC continues to answer fan demands for more MMA action at no additional cost. The UFC broke new ground recently when it was announced that they would stream two free preliminary bouts from today’s UFC “Fight for the Troops 2” event on their Facebook page, and just hours before the event is scheduled to get underway, news is hitting the internet that the number of fights has doubled.

That’s right, the UFC will be showcasing four preliminary “Fight for the Troops 2” fights on their official Facebook page. To accommodate the added bouts, the new start-time for the live internet stream is 7 PM ET and 4 PM PT.

It was previously announced that the preliminary stream would feature two fights: a bout pitting “The Ultimate Fighter” member Cody McKenzie against the always-tough Yves Edwards, and another bout pitting DaMarques Johnson, also a standout on the season of “The Ultimate Fighter” that he was a part of, taking on Mike Guymon.

The two additional fights are as follows: first up we have a bout pitting former WEC Featherweight Champion Mike Thomas Brown against Rani Yahya, and then we’ll see a showdown between Waylon Lowe and Williamy Freire.

The official Spike TV broadcast of “Fight for the Troops 2” begins at 9 PM ET and 6 PM PT. The event is designed to raise funds for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, a non-profit charity designed to help veterans and the families of veterans.

I have to admit, fans and friends, two free hours of live MMA action sounds pretty irresistible, no matter who’s fighting. Better yet, these honestly seem like four great fights on paper. Cody McKenzie’s stock is rapidly rising in the UFC, but Yves Edwards is still a significant (though not insurmountable) challenge to him. DaMarques Johnson loves to entertain and has had some pretty fun fights in his time spent inside the Octagon. And then there’s Mike Thomas Brown, who’s fallen a bit on hard times lately but remains an incredibly dangerous striker and a proven championship-level contender.

I’ll most definitely be tuning in to watch these preliminary fights even though I don’t have a Facebook account and never felt any great need to get one. I think this is a pretty smart move on the UFC’s part, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a big success that ensures that the “Prelims Live” specials don’t go anywhere anytime soon. Even as a person that’s never touched Facebook, I can still see how wildly popular and universally known it is, so this could end up being a gamble that pays off in a huge way.

And what about you, fans and friends? Is this icing on the cake for those of you who were going to tune in anyway? And for those of you that didn’t plan on catching the stream, do these additional two fights make you want to reconsider your stance?