Missing: Barn Cat

image via: mmajunkie.com

Tamdan "The Barn Cat" McCrory has been missing since UFC 101. He was defeated that night by John "Jake Ellenberger turned me into E.T." Howard. I have not seen or heard from him since. Tamdan had talked about not being able to make 170 anymore due to him going through a "man spurt". As gross as that may sound, what he meant was that he could not longer get his lanky 6'4" frame down to 170lbs. I do not know how long of a process this is but I just want him back.

There is no cash reward for the safe return of Tamdan to the UFC but there will be payment in the form of exciting fights at Middleweight. McCrory went 3-3 in the UFC. His victories were over Pete Spratt, Ryan Madigan and Luke Cummo and his losses were at the hands of Akihiro Gono, Dustin "Weirdbeard" Hazelett and the aforementioned John Howard. Clearly, The Barn Cat was not a world beater in the UFC and I don't think anyone was floored that he was cut. So why should he go back to the UFC?

Exciting potential match-ups at Middleweight - I personally would love to see Tamdan fight a now allowed to fight again Alan Belcher. Also Kendall Grove. Who wouldn't be entertained by two freakishly tall middleweights with skills both standing up and on the ground? Another interesting fight would be with Jason "The Athlete" MacDonald once he gets his leg all back together.

Good Entrance Music - Tamdan McCrory called out Dana White in the octagon after his victory at UFC 96 for not being able to walk to the ring to "Thunderhorse" by Dethklok. If only more people wanted to enter the arena to Metal I would be a happier fan. I can only listen to Eminem's "Not Afraid" or whatever other nu-metal bullshit so many times.

Super-Nerd Appearance - It is easy to look like a stereotypical hardass MMA fighter. Easy for everyone that is, but Tamdan McCrory, who looks like he should be rolling up to the arena in a Geek Squad VW beetle to fix a laptop in the media section not donning 4 oz. gloves. People will always identify with an everyman.

Certainly there are more prominent fighters that I would like to see in the UFC. Mayhem Miller, Fedor Emilianenko, Eddie Alvarez and Nick Diaz are all out there but these are fairly obvious choices. Tamdan McCrory is not a superstar now. He does however, have a frame that presents many problems and as soon as he grows into his body he can be a handful for any mid tier fighter or a great test for new blood. If anyone out there finds The Barn Cat, please return him to the nearest training camp and get him back in competition. I would appreciate it.