Matt Van Buren trains at the powerhouse Alliance MMA camp. | K. Mills/Sherdog.com
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS
Matt Van Buren (6-2): Van Buren trains at Alliance MMA, where he sharpens his skills alongside former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, onetime Bellator MMA lightweight titleholder Michael Chandler and world-ranked light heavyweight Phil Davis. The 27-year-old won his first five professional fights before suffering back-to-back defeats to Mike Mucitelli and Terry Davinney. Van Buren rebounded in June, when he notched a unanimous decision over Mojtaba Najim Wali inside the Gladiators of the Cage organization.
John Poppie (3-1): Poppie wrestled collegiately at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse before transitioning to MMA. He last competed under the GenX Promotions banner in July, when he put away Brandon Rossbach with a first-round rear-naked choke at the Sanford Center in Bemidji, Minn. Poppie, who has delivered all three of his wins by submission, suffered his only professional defeat in June 2013, as he succumbed to second-round punches from UFC veteran Eric Schafer.
Anton Berzin (3-1): Berzin cut his teeth inside the Cage Fury Fighting Championships, Locked in the Cage and Xtreme Caged Combat promotions. The Philadelphia-based Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt has not fought since CFFC 17 in October 2012, when he submitted Walter Howard with a first-round rear-naked choke at the Dover Downs Hotel and Casino in Dover, Del. Berzin was undefeated as an amateur.
Doug Sparks (7-2): A Team Hoedown representative, Sparks enters “The Ultimate Fighter” on the strength of six wins in his past seven outings. The 31-year-old last competed at a Turf Wars Extreme Fighting event in August 2012, when he wound up on the wrong side of a unanimous decision against Shaun Asher. Sparks has secured all seven of his victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission.
Kelly Anundson (7-2): Anundson made his Bellator MMA debut at Bellator 115 on April 4, when he submitted the previously unbeaten Volkan Oezdemir with a second-round neck crank. The 29-year-old American Top Team representative has secured six of his seven wins by knockout, technical knockout or submission, five of them inside one round. Anundson wrestled collegiately at Newberry College in South Carolina, where he was an NCAA All-American.
Josh Clark (5-2): Clark trains out of the Syndicate MMA camp in Las Vegas, where he has worked alongside Mike Pyle, three-time Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships medalist Vinny Magalhaes and “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 7 winner Amir Sadollah. “The Hillbilly Heartthrob” has not fought since October 2011, when he dropped a unanimous decision to Reggie Pena at an Xtreme Fighting Championships event in Orlando, Fla. Clark, 29, made one appearance under the Bellator MMA banner in 2010.
Photo: K. Mills/Sherdog.com
Spohn has won two straight.
Chris Fields (10-5-1): Fields trains out of the same Straight Blast Gym Ireland camp that spawned UFC featherweight Conor McGregor. A former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder, the 30-year-old last fought at CWFC 55 in June, when he battled Norman Paraisy to a three-round majority draw at The Helix in Dublin, Ireland. Between April 24, 2010 and Feb. 18, 2012, Fields rattled off seven consecutive victories, finishing all seven of them by knockout, technical knockout or submission.
Josh Stansbury (5-2): After starting his professional MMA career with back-to-back losses, Stansbury has pieced together an impressive streak of five straight wins. The 29-year-old Team Impact representative last competed at a North American Allied Fight Series show in August, when he captured promotional gold with a five-round unanimous decision over John Hawk at the Nautica Pavilion in Cleveland, Ohio. Stansbury has avenged the only two defeats on his pro resume.
Jake Heun (5-3): A Palmer, Alaska, native, Heun played college football at the University of Hawaii before transitioning to mixed martial arts. The 26-year-old American Top Team representative last competed at a Global Warrior Challenge show in June, when he submitted to a rear-naked choke from Dayman Lake at the Spirit Center in Kansas City, Mo. The loss halted a career-best three-fight winning streak for Heun, who also appeared on Season 17 of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
Tyler King (6-2): King sports five first-round finishes among his six career victories. The son of former New England Patriots linebacker Steve King, the 33-year-old played college football at the University of Connecticut before a brief stint in the NFL. A New England Fights champion, King last fought at a Battle at the Sun show in February, when he succumbed to first-round punches from Eric Bedard at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., the defeat snapping his string of three straight wins.
Daniel Vizcaya (7-2): An M-1 Global veteran, Vizcaya has won his last four fights, finishing three of them. The 28-year-old Aurora, Ill., native has not fought since Bellator 84 in December 2012, when he took a split decision from Jack Hermansson at The Venue at Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Ind. Vizcaya has delivered six of his seven career victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission.
Patrick Walsh (4-1): Walsh, 25, wrestled collegiately at Ohio State University. A Wai Kru MMA stablemate of former Ring of Combat champion John Howard, he last competed at a Substance Cage Combat event in June, when he captured a unanimous verdict from Todd Stoute at the George Bell Arena in Toronto. Walsh has finished three opponents in the first round, two of them in less than a minute.
Todd Monaghan (5-3): Monaghan will carry a three-fight winning streak into the competition. The 31-year-old Rothwell MMA representative has not fought since Extreme Challenge 224 in January 2013, when he stopped Nate Rodriguez on third-round punches at the Isle of Capri Casino in Bettendorf, Iowa. A protégé of former International Fight League cornerstone Ben Rothwell, Monaghan has never gone the distance in eight career appearances.
Cody Mumma (5-1): Mumma, 30, has finished his past five opponents, four of them in the first round. He last appeared at Rocky Mountain Bad Boyz “Bring the Pain 2” in August, when he knocked out Cruz Chacon with a knee strike a little less than two minutes into their match in Sheridan, Colo. Mumma was spawned by the Grudge Training Center, where he trained alongside current World Series of Fighting lightweight champion Justin Gaethje and former interim UFC heavyweight titleholder Shane Carwin.