UFC 117 Preview: The Prelims

Phil Davis vs. Rodney Wallace

You can’t visit an MMA Web site anymore without hearing all about how Jon Jones is going to drop a curb-stomp on the entire light heavyweight division. Lost in all that premature hyperbole is uber-prospect Phil Davis and his bout with the always rugged Rodney Wallace.

Stanislav Nedkov was originally slotted in Davis’ spot, but an injury forced him off the card and now Wallace must deal with an impossible style clash. Impossible because Wallace is an undersized light heavyweight who fights under the misguided notion that he can Hulk up on any mammal alive. The Hulk up routine usually consists of Wallace leading with sloppy haymakers and telegraphed power double legs.

Neither of those will work against Davis, who has the reach advantage and fundamentals to keep Wallace at bay. A good example of this is Davis’ fight with Stann, which saw the Penn State alumnus use intelligent movement and his reach -- especially with stinging kicks to the body -- to dictate distance. Setting Davis aside for a moment, Wallace does himself no favors by throwing looping arm punches that leave him exposed both to counter-strikes and, worse yet, level changes.

The difference in wrestling skill is the most pronounced difference between these two. Wallace employs a simplistic power takedown game while Davis is a far more advanced and versatile wrestler. A former D-1 national wrestling champion, “Mr. Wonderful” has shown flawless timing on his shots and an overwhelming clinch game that emphasizes chaining together techniques over raw power and speed. Wallace makes for a stark contrast, as he relies almost entirely on telegraphed leg attacks that seem to lose steam with every minute his fights last.

Clearly, Wallace doesn’t have the skill or talent to come anywhere close to outwrestling Davis, which leaves him without any weapons in this fight. Even if Wallace were to score a miracle takedown, he’s never been a good finisher and his lack of size makes it difficult for him to hold position. The long and short of it is that Davis will win every single takedown battle and he’ll make it look easy.

In his fight with Alexander Gustafsson we all saw why Davis’ wrestling is such a terrifying weapon. It’s one thing to get taken down by a great wrestler and another altogether to get taken down by a great submission wrestler. Davis is clearly dedicated to absorbing the intricacies of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. The result thus far has been guard-passing skills that most veteran fighters would sell their souls for. The Gustafsson fight suggests Davis’ submission skills are starting to come around as well, and he’ll galvanize that notion at Wallace’s expense.