Camozzi-Larkin, Markes-Romero added to UFC's 'Fight for the Troops 3' card

The UFC’s next “Fight for the Troops” show continues to fill out with the addition of a pair of middleweight fights.

Chris Camozzi (19-6 MMA, 6-3 UFC) meets Lorenz Larkin (13-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC), while Ronny Markes (14-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) takes on Yoel Romero (5-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC). UFC officials recently announced the fight bookings.

“UFC Fight Night 31: Fight for the Troops 3? takes place Nov. 6 at Fort Campbell in Kentucky. The main card, featuring a recently announced middleweight bout between former light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida and Army Bronze Star winner Tim Kennedy, airs on FOX Sports 1 following prelims on Facebook.

The UFC most recently did a troops show in January 2011 at Fort Hood, Texas. In December 2008, the first show dubbed “Fight for the Troops” took place in Fayetteville, N.C. The promotion also did UFC Fight Night 7 at the Marine Corps base in Miramar, Calif., in 2006

Camozzi will be looking to rebound from a submission loss in May against Ronaldo Souza at UFC on FX 8 in Brazil. He took the fight on just a couple weeks’ notice, filling in for Constantinos Philippou and moving up to the co-main event slot from a previous fight against Rafael Natal. The loss snapped a four-fight win streak for the “TUF 11? veteran that included wins over Nick Ring and Luiz Cane and stoppages of Nick Catone and Dustin Jacoby.

Larkin, too, will be trying to erase the memory of a controversial loss in his UFC debut in April. At UFC on FOX 7, he dropped a unanimous decision to Francis Carmont. Nearly every major media outlet scored the fight in Larkin’s favor, but still he was handed his first official loss. (In 2012, he was stopped by Muhammed Lawal in a Strikeforce light heavyweight fight, but the loss was overturned to a no-contest when Lawal tested positive for a banned steroid.)

Markes will put his seven-fight win streak and perfect UFC record on the line against Romero. He was scheduled to meet Derek Brunson at UFC on FUEL TV 10 in June. But a car accident in Brazil on the way to cut weight on weigh-ins day forced him out of the fight. His three UFC victories all have gone the distance. In August 2011, he outpointed Karlos Vemola in Milwaukee. In February 2012, he took a split decision from Aaron Simpson in his debut at middleweight. Nearly a year later, he beat Andrew Craig at UFC on FX 7 in January.

Romero, a silver medal winner in wrestling at the 2000 Olympic Games for his native Cuba, debuted in the UFC in April at UFC on FOX 7. His first fight at middleweight was a highly successful one – he picked up a “Knockout of the Night” bonus for his flying knee win over Clifford Starks that came just 92 seconds into the fight. That was his first fight in 19 months after being knocked out by Rafael Cavalcante in a Strikeforce fight in September 2011. Romero was supposed to fight Derek Brunson next week at UFC 164, but a Brunson injury knocked him out of the fight, and replacement Brian Houston didn’t get medical clearance. Instead, Romero will have to wait until November to try to stay perfect in the UFC.

With the additions, the UFC Fight Night 31 card now includes:

• Tim Kennedy vs. Lyoto Machida
• Rustam Khabilov vs. Jorge Masvidal
• Chris Camozzi vs. Lorenz Larkin
• Seth Baczynski vs. Neil Magny
• Ronny Markes vs. Yoel Romero

For the latest on UFC Fight Night 31, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Chris Camozzi)