UFC 124 Preview: The Main Card
Stevenson vs. Danzig
Jason Probst Dec 8, 2010
Joe
Stevenson: Daniel Herbertson | Sherdog.com
Joe Stevenson vs. Mac Danzig
When allowed to dictate when a fight hits the ground, Stevenson sets a tempo that is tough to counter. His blend of wrestling and grind-‘em-down grappling runs opponents’ gas tanks dry if they can’t stave him off. If opponents can turn the tables on “Joe Daddy” -- as B.J. Penn, Kenny Florian and George Sotiropoulos did -- it becomes easier to beat him.
Danzig is a real wild card. He won the sixth season of “TUF,” but he’s hit a losing skid of late, dropping four of his last five. He’s probably as physically talented as Stevenson, with equal or slightly better standup. Both are exceptionally experienced, with a combined 70 bouts in their careers.
This is one of the those lightweight matches were both men are likely to negate one another for the first half of the match, and then conditioning will come into play. Stevenson should have enough of an edge to spend more time on top -- neither is a big knockout threat to the other and both have good beards -- where he’ll push the pace en route to a decision win. Expect to see some intricate jiu-jitsu, sweeps and reversals. If we’re lucky, Stevenson might even hit the epic banana split he did on Nate Diaz.
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