7-time UFC vet Cody McKenzie aims for Venator FC gold in 4-man, single-night tourney

“The AK Kid” will soon look to claim a welterweight title previously held by two current UFC signees.

Italy’s Venator FC recently announced that “The Ultimate Fighter 12” cast member Cody McKenzie (16-10) is one of four entrants into the promotion’s upcoming single-night tourney, which takes place this Saturday at Teatro Principe in Milan.

McKenize meets 22-year-old Italian Stefano Paterno (7-2) in the opening round, while Italy’s Giorgio Pietrini (11-4) meets Eulogio Fernandez (11-7) on the opposite side of the bracket.

According to Venator FC officials, the opening round of the tournament will feature two-round contests, while the final will be three rounds. Veteran referee Marc Goddard is slated to oversee the contests, and the Federazione Italiana Grappling Mixed Martial Arts while sanction the bouts and provide drug testing for the event.

“Venator FC: Kingdom” streams live for €14.99 (approx. $17.70 USD) at VenatorKingdom.cleeng.com. The main card starts at 9 p.m. CEST local time (3 p.m. ET).

Recent Venator FC welterweight champions include Marvin Vettori (12-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) and Emil Meek (9-2-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC).

An Alaska native, McKenzie is best know for his 2010 run on “The Ultimate Fighter 12” and subsequent seven-fight stretch in the UFC, highlighted by a “Submission of the Night” win over Aaron Wilkinson and a “Fight of the Night” loss to Yves Edwards.

More recently, McKenzie has endured a disappointing 1-6 stretch, though the lone win in that run took place in a Venator FC bout in May 2016.

Using his guillotine choke variant known as the “McKenzietine,” the 29-year-old has earned 12 of his 16 career victories with the hold.

The Blue Corner is MMAjunkie‘s official blog and is edited by Mike Bohn.