UFC 99 Preview: The Main Card

Marcus Davis vs. Dan Hardy

The Breakdown: All opponents of globalization fail to realize that it brings me closer to my dream world where geographic grudge matches are settled inside a cage for the entertainment of all. Utopia indeed and the bad blood between Marcus Davis and Dan Hardy should make for one of the night’s best dustups. With both men holding a stated preference for striking, the clash boils down to Hardy’s rangy kickboxing and Davis’ power puncher meets Muay Thai approach.

Despite Davis’ short reach, it hasn’t been a problem for him lately and Hardy’s boxing defense lacks the seasoning Davis has after years on the amateur and professional circuit. If and when this turns into a firefight, Davis’ ability to evade and return fire may be what turns this bout in his favor.

The X Factor: Injuries have been an ongoing problem for Davis and while he claims to be fighting pain free, we’ve heard that song before and its rung false plenty of times before. Mix that in with Davis’ elder statesman status and years spent dealing with the wear and tear on the boxing circuit and you have to wonder just how much time Davis has in a sport that is notoriously unkind to its elders.

The Bottom Line: Lost amidst all the talk of these two going for the jugular is the fact that Davis has shown the smarts to work his underrated ground game when his stand-up fails him. A skill that Hardy doesn’t have in equal measure and that will eventually cost him the fight as a show-stopping striking showdown turns into a ground clinic with Davis wielding the scalpel. Maybe he’ll take a moment and do something about Hardy looking like an extra from “Mad Max 2”.