Lofton to face Kuchera in rematch at MFC 19

It was an early candidate for the MFC's Fight of the Year. Now the same two
combatants will do it all over again.

Aron Lofton will look for a repeat performance while Jason Kuchera is in search of redemption.

Lofton, the hard-hitting charismatic Oklahoman, will meet up with home-town favorite Kuchera at MFC 19: Long Time Coming in a rematch of their slugfest from MFC 16. It wasn't pretty the first time around and it's likely to be just as violent in the second go-around.

"The fans want this fight to happen," said MFC Owner/President Mark Pavelich. "It was a fantastic fight - a real old-fashioned brawl - the first time and I expect both guys to come out looking for a spectacular knockout.

Kuchera wants revenge and Lofton wants to do it all over again. I guarantee
this fight will bring the fans out of their seats."

When the two clashed the first time, Lofton gained an early advantage when he sliced open a vicious gash on Kuchera's upper lip. The fight was nearly stopped at one point - although somewhat inexplicably since Lofton appeared to be closing in on a submission at the time. Ringside doctors looked at the cut and let Kuchera continue and both near-exhausted warriors further fought into the second round until Lofton gained another advantage in the final moments of the round to secure a win by submission via guillotine choke with only five seconds left.

The fighters have taken interesting roads since that epic battle. Both were
immediately back in action at MFC 17 though the outcomes of their fights had
dramatic effects on the careers. Lofton stepped up to face Dwayne Lewis and
promised a much shorter fight. Lofton knew that Lewis would be watching out
for his overhand right, but Lewis still never saw it coming. Lofton faked with a jab and scored directly on the chin with the right, spinning Lewis and dropping him face first to the mat. It was all over in just 17 seconds.

Kuchera was after the same sort of impressive finish and it seemed as though
he would get it as he pummeled Jay Whitford throughout the opening round of
their encounter. Whitford, however, withstood the barrage and put his submission skills to work in Round 2 ultimately ending it with an armbar.

Two losses in a row for Kuchera and things were looking rather bleak.

Lofton returned for the third straight show and was set to square-off against Whitford and just as Kuchera had done, Whitford was rocked in Round 1. But a funny thing happened along the way. Round 2 was Whitford at his best, turning the tables just as he had done against Kuchera, and the Calgary native worked his way through an arsenal of submission attempts before sealing up the win with a head-arm triangle choke. The victory was stunning and so too was the reaction from the sold-out crowd at The Venue at River Cree Resort and Casino. Lofton, the sculpted "Poster Boy" was beaten by Joe-everyman Whitford and the fans ate it up.

So with both fighters coming off losses to the same opponent and a terrific
showdown between them in the not-so-distant past it's a natural fit to put them together again on the undercard of Long Time Coming.

Can Kuchera rebound from a pair of devastating losses? Can Lofton put it all
together again and re-establish himself as a top-drawer MFC fighter? Has
Kuchera figured out some submission defence - or will it even matter? Does
Lofton have more of a game plan than just firing off the right and can he create a better gas tank for himself than he's shown so far?

These are the types of questions that only a rematch can answer.