UFC Fight Night 24: Nogueira vs Davis Preview

On March 26, 2011, the Ultimate FIghting Championship will make their first visit to the state of Washington this year with UFC Fight Night 24: Nogueira vs Davis/UFC Dight Night: Seattle. This event's lineup has been plagued with multiple injuries & replacements with three of the four main card bouts requiring replacement fighters. The main card alone will present a well recognized veteran fighting an up & coming prospect, two hard hitting welterweight contenders, a TUF winner against a TUF runner up, and a rematch between two hard hitting featherweights that throw technique out the window & always throw for the fences.

Main Card Bouts:
Antonio Rogerio "Lil' Nog" Nogueira (19-4-0) vs Phil "Mr. Wonderful" Davis (8-0-0)

Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy (23-8-0(1)) vs Anthony "Rumble" Johnson (8-3-0)

Amir Sadollah (4-2-0) vs DaMarques "Darkness" Johnson (12-8-0)

Leonard "Bad Boy" Garcia (15-6-1) vs "The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung (10-3-0)



Lil' Nog vs Davis
The main event was one bout that suffered a line up change when originally scheduled fighter Tito Ortiz was forced out of the bout after receiving a cut above his eye & a concussion while training for the fight. Davis was then selected as a replacement being pulled from his upcoming fight with Matt Hamill.
The main event of the evening will feature the a well known veteran from the days of PrideFC with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, or Lil' Nog, fighting a wrestling power house & rising undefeated prospect with Phil Davis. Nogueira will be coming in off his first promotional loss that snapped seven fight winning streak at the hands of Ryan Bader with a Unanimous Decision loss at UFC 119: Mir vs Cro Cop. Davis will be coming into this fight on an undefeated streak off his fourth promotional win with a Rnd2 Submission Win over Tim Boetsch at UFC 123: Rampage vs Machida. In terms of experience, Nogueira will come in as the favorite having fought professionally for almost ten years, being a well recognized BJJ black belt that, & experience as a professional boxer. Davis on the other hand comes in with an elite wrestling background as a 4x NCAA1 All-American collegiate wrestler that has helped him dominate opponents with pure strength that has given him room to progress his striking game. Without a doubt Nogueira will be the favorite both in the stand up & grappling on the ground, but the youthful Davis has the advantage being the lesser known fighter that has plenty of room to improve in both. Davis has been criticized for not being the most dangerous striker, but has made up for that with his strength & wrestling that led to a one handed Kimura in his last fight. Nogueira will look to use his experienced boxing as he does to out-strike Davis, while Davis will use his speed to dodge & get in quick to land his own strikes. In the grappling whelm, wile Nogueira will fell confident that his BJJ can earn him a finish, Davis will have watched his fights with Brilz & Bader where Nogueira's BJJ was neutralized by their pace & elusiveness. While Lil' Nog will be the favorite, do not be so surpirsed should Davis earn a victory over this veteran.

Hardy vs Johnson
The co-main event of the night will feature two hard hitting welterweights who look to rebound from tough losses as elite striker Dan Hardy faces heavy hitting wrestler Anthony Johnson. Hardy will be coming in off a two fight losing streak with a Rnd1 KO loss to fellow contender Carlos Condit at UFC 120: Bisping vs Akiyama. Johnson will be coming back into action over a year after his Rnd2 Submission loss to contender Josh Koscheck at UFC 106: Ortiz vs Griffin 2. While Hardy has been improving his ground game, & Johnson has a strong wrestling base, both have pledged to keep the fight a standing affair for as long as the other is conscious. In the striking whelm, Hardy is without a doubt the more technical striker having trained in martial arts for much of his life, while Johnson is the wrestler who loves nothing more than to land with heavy swings that he puts his entire body into. Hardy has rededicated himself to the sport as he has sought to be less one dimensional putting back on the Gi re-familiarizing himself with BJJ, though this bout does not seem to be where he will showcase his new focus. Johnson will have to re-familiarize himself getting back into the cage as he will come in not having fought since late 2009 & having had to recover from a serious knee injury. Johnson will also need to prove how serious he is about staying in the 170lb division as he is known for having trouble cutting down for weigh-ins as he has stated that he usually cuts 55lbs altogether to make weight. Hardy will look to get past the 4inch reach disadvantage to land precision strikes at the jaw to score the finish, while Johnson will look to push the pace using his longer reach to keep Hardy at bay & make a statement looking for the powerful finish as he continuously refuses to put his wrestling background to use in the cage. Fans can expect an all exclusive display of striking from two fighters who prefer to let their hands do the talking.

Sadollah vs Johnson
The second bout on the main card will feature a welterweight match with TUF7 winner Amir Sadollah taking on TUF9 runner-up DaMarques Johnson. Johnson will be filling in for the winner of TUF9 James Wilks. Both Sadollah & Johnson will come in off comeback wins with impressive displays. Sadollah comes in off a strong performance against Peter Sobotta showcasing his improved Muay Thai earning a Unanimous Decision at UFC 122: Marquardt vs Okami. Johnson comes in off a Rnd1 Submission win over Mike Guymon with a body-triangle at UFC Fight For the Troops 2; what made the submission surprising is that it is not common to see the body-triangle as a submission to force an opponent to submit in MMA. Sadollah will be the favorite to win being the original scheduled fighter, though having to change his game plan for this bout could be a factor working against him. While Johnson has more fights to his record, Sadollah can be considered the more well rounded. Johnson may look to take the fight to the ground where he has earned half of his wins by submission. Sadollah may look to keep the fight standing showing off his improving Muay Thai as he had broken the record for most leg kicks thrown in a single fight in his previous bout against Sobotta. This will be one of the overlooked bouts being seen as one of the lower level & not so entertaining match-ups, though it may prove otherwise.


Garcia vs Sung Jung 2
The first bout of the main card will be a rematch that was originally scheduled as a different rematch. The original rematch was with Leonard Garcia vs Nam Phan after Garcia was rewarded a controversial decision that a majority of fans felt Phan had won. Phan was unfortunately injured prior to the bout, which prompted Chan Sung Jung to volunteer for a rematch with Garcia instead.
Garcia will come in off a controversial Split Decision win over Phan at TUF12 Finale which received Fight of the Night honors. Many fans, including UFC President Dana White agreed that Phan had been robbed of a decision victory & were awaiting to see a rematch with both fighters perfectly healthy. In place of Phan, korean striker Chan Sung Jung steps in hoping to rebound from a two fight losing streak after a devastating Rnd2 KO loss to George Roop at WEC 51: Aldo vs Gamburyan. Both fighters are known for throwing technique out the window which is supported by watching the original match-up between the two at WEC 48: Aldo vs Faber which won Fight of the Night & was seen as Fight of the Year by Fight! Magazine. Garcia is known for throwing his fists wildly as if throwing fast-balls pretty much throwing all technique out the window. Jung is called the "Korean Zombie" deservingly as he is known for continuously stalking forward & absorbing strikes while showing no signs of pain or emotion. Both fighters lived up to these expectations as fans were treated to a brawl that in the end saw Garcia take home the Split Decision win that many felt should have been a draw. Garcia may decide to use more technique, while Jung may look to shake off his zombie-like fight persona that contributed to his recent loss. Many MMA fans, including myself, have predict that this rematch will once again take Fight of the Night  honors.

Honorable mentions of fighters included on the preliminary cards will include those on the free Facebook.com/UFC.
On the Facebook card, Alex Caceres also known as "Bruce Leeroy" makes his promotional debut after competing on TUF12 & being forced off the Finale card with an injury.
The first bout will earn two honorable mentions as former teammates Jon Madsen & Mike Russow meet in a Heavyweight bout. Madsen comes in off an undefeated seven fight win streak with his first stoppage win in the promotion with a Rnd1 TKO over Gilbert Yvel. Russow come in on a nine fight win streak with a come from behind Rnd3 KO win over the favorite Todd Duffee. Both are strong wrestlers, while Russow a wide variety of submission wins with multiple holds.
Halted prospect John Hathaway will be fighting TUF11 runner-up Kris McCray. Hathaway comes in off his first loss to underdog Mike Pyle. McCray will come in off a two fight losing streak having lost TUF11 & then to prospect Carlos Eduardo Rocha via Rnd1 Submission. McCray will need a win to stay under the UFC.
Two former undefeated Heavyweights will meet as Sean McCorkle fights Christian Morecraft. Both are coming in off their first losses, both losing to young star Stefan Struve. Both are strong both standing & grappling, though the striking may belong more to Morecraft, while grappling may belong more to McCorkle.

This event has potential to entertain all MMA & UFC fans. With an entertaining rematch, two powerful strikers wanting to make a statement climbing up the 170lb division, & a main event that puts a veteran against a rising prospect. Enjoy & support the sport of MMA.