Jeremy Horn (bottom) file photo: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com
In the next chapter of one the sport’s most prolific careers, UFC veteran Jeremy Horn will defend the International Fighting Championship middleweight title against Sean Salmon at IFC “Extreme Challenge” on Saturday at the Soaring Eagle Casino in Mt. Pleasant, Mich.
Horn will carry a four-fight winning streak into the match. The 34-year-old journeyman has not competed since January, when he submitted Victor Moreno with a first-round guillotine choke to win the 5150 Combat League middleweight championship. Wins over “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 11 winner Court McGee, UFC hall of famer Chuck Liddell and former UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin anchor his lengthy resume, along with three victories against world-ranked middleweight Chael Sonnen. In 108 professional bouts, Horn has only been knocked out twice.
“My goal for my career has always been to keep moving forward, to keep pushing to where I’m fighting at the highest levels I can,” Horn said in a release. “All I can do is go out and compete and do what I do.”
A Milwaukee native, Salmon has lost five of his last eight fights. The 32-year-old last appeared in May, when he submitted to an Eric Cebarac guillotine choke under the World Absolute Fighting Championship banner in Russia. Salmon has secured 13 of his 18 career victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission. In 2007, he was on the receiving end of two of the sport’s most brutal KOs: a head kick finish from Rashad Evans inside the UFC and a flying knee stoppage from Jorge Santiago in Strikeforce.
Horn expects to put away Salmon.
“At some point, I’ll look to take him down, and from there, it will be a matter of finishing the fight on my terms,” he said. “That’s always the goal.”
The IFC “Extreme Challenge” lineup will also feature a heavyweight duel between UFC veterans Chase Gormley and Mike Whitehead. Gormley, a late replacement for Jeff Monson, righted his ship with a unanimous decision victory against Ryan Fortin at a Maximum Fighting Championship show in May.