War Machine Takes Out Roger Huerta By TKO

The fighter formerly known as Jon Koppenhaver picked up his first victory since spending a year in the San Diego County Jail for assault charges, and it was a notable one.

Koppenhaver took on fellow UFC vet Roger Huerta in a welterweight contest for the main event of Ultimate Warrior Fighting last night in Pharr, Texas and won the bout via third round TKO. The two men battled back and forth for the majority of the fight, but War Machine eventually took mount in the third round and rained down blows that Huerta was unable to defend courtesy a rib injury that had him clutching his chest for several moments following the fight.

Machine improved to 12-4 in victory, rebounding from a submission loss to John Alessio he suffered last year, shortly before he was incarcerated. The 29-year-old has now gone 2-2 in his last four, with this most recent victory possibly signalling a career resurgence for the oft-troubled alum of The Ultimate Fighter 6.

Though not in jail, Huerta was out of the ring for about as long as War Machine, having taken time off from the sport to train and rehab facial damage he suffered courtesy Eddie Alvarez. The 28-year-old has now gone 1-5 over his last six fights, with his only victory being a submission over Chad Hinton.

Mark Wayne is the head writer for FightLine.com. He can be followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/_MarkWayne.