Phil Davis
Taking a look at 10 storylines coming out of UFC Fight Night 24 in Seattle
PHIL DAVIS IS STILL GROWING
In the wake of Jon Jones’s tremendous rush to the top of the UFC light heavyweight division, a lot of people are expecting a similar quick climb for Davis. If his performance Saturday night is any indication, he’ll get there, but it shouldn’t be any time soon.
Davis is a tremendous talent with a very bright future, but he’s far from being a finished product. Earning a good win over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira is another step in the right direction, but showed that the former national champion’s striking is still a work in progress.
Some may frame his win Saturday night as a sign that the hype surrounding Davis is a little too much, but to me it as simply indicative of something Davis told me earlier in the week: he’s still green.
As he continues to develop, Davis will become a very dangerous part of the 205-pound division. I just hope people give him time to get there at his own pace.
THE NEXT GENERATION IS REALLY GENERATION NOW
We always talk about fighters like Davis as being a part of “The Next Generation,” but watching the former national champion wrestler work through Nogueira on Saturday night is a sign that the next generation has already arrived.
With each passing event we see more established names being overtaken by young upstarts. Even in youthful battles like Saturday’s Fight of the Night, the UFC is finding emerging talents like 20-year-old Michael McDonald to showcase moving forward.
The evolution of the pecking order shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. Just as the current established ranks pushed out the initial collection of one-dimensional fighters who succeeded in the early days of the UFC, now the new breed of talents are doing the same.
It’s a little bit of Darwin for our mixed martial arts diet.
JOHNSON GROWING AS A FIGHTER
After 16 months on the sidelines and answering an abundance of questions about his weight, Anthony Johnson put everything aside and earned a solid victory on Saturday night.
Known primarily for his striking (and troubles with his weight), Johnson returned to his wrestling roots to dominate former welterweight title contender Dan Hardy in the co-main event of the evening. A former junior college national champion, Johnson took Hardy down with ease while using his size to control the action on the canvas.
Though he wasn’t as active as the raucous Seattle crowd would have liked, Johnson said in the post-fight press conference that getting the win was most important. The soft-spoken Georgia native also explained that he’s ready to take the next step in his development.
Instead of focusing solely on his striking, Johnson plans to use his wrestling more often, and joked about trying submissions in the cage for the first time in his career. With his enormous frame and dangerous striking, working to be more well-rounded could make Johnson a threat in the welterweight division as early as this year.
NO ONE GETS IT MORE THAN DAN HARDY
There isn’t a fighter in the sport who understands the importance of the pageantry of mixed martial arts than Hardy.
As polarizing a figure as there is in the sport, the Brit gets a big pop wherever he goes, with equal parts of the crowd cheering and booing. And there is Hardy, egging them on the whole way.
First hidden behind his trademark toothy bandana on the way to the cage, then playing up his introduction with Bruce Buffer, the charismatic Nottingham native works the room better than anyone. He’s embraced his role as the lovable bad guy, and it will keep him employed for the foreseeable future.
Now all he has to do is get back into the win column.
Former Ultimate Fighter winner Amir Sadollah looked very good in his battle with fellow TUF alum DaMarques Johnson. The Season 7 champion showed solid striking, adding more boxing to his traditional Muay Thai approach, and mixing in a handful of takedowns for good measure.
After enduring a back-and-forth first round that two judges awarded to Johnson, Sadollah came out more aggressive than he’s been since coming into the UFC. While the second started down the same path as the first, Sadollah eventually earned the upper hand, locking down Johnson in an old school, “Total Hold Down” position, dropping a series of elbows and punches through the finish.
It’s not the first time the Virginia native has looked impressive in the Octagon; his victories over Brad Blackburn and Phil Baroni were both solid. The key is taking this progress and maintaining his momentum at the next level.
He stumbled against Dong Hyun Kim earlier in his career and was dropped by Johny Hendricks in his UFC debut, so wins have been elusive against the next tier of talent. Without being able to score a win in the second level, Sadollah will never move past this point in his career progression.
photo by Tracy Lee for Yahoo Sports
photo by Tracy Lee for Yahoo Sports
ZOMBIE TWISTER
No, it’s not the newest screenplay to come out of Hollywood, but rather the biggest story coming out of Fight Night 24 in Seattle.
In the rematch of their epic 2010 encounter, “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung became the first fighter to successfully execute a Twister inside the Octagon. The rare submission, a combination neck crank/spinal twist, hence the name, has been completed in competition before, but never in the UFC.
After a stirring first meeting, Jung and Leonard Garcia both appeared more measured this time around. While the frequent split decision winner Garcia was still throwing fastballs and exhibiting his trademark aggression, Jung was clearly the better man in this one.
Already wildly popular, Jung’s profile will continue to grow after this performance. As an aside, I might take a slight hiatus from Heavy to write my Zombie Twister script.
McDONALD HAS STAR POTENTIAL
Watching Michael McDonald excel inside the Octagon at age 20 reminds me (again) that I really didn’t apply myself enough growing up. While I lumbered my way through a degree I don’t use, the youngest fighter on the UFC roster has already collected his first win inside the Octagon.
Paired with late replacement Edwin Figueroa, the featherweights put on the Fight of the Night, with McDonald dictating much of the up-tempo action. He showcased improved hands and an ability to make Figueroa miss in the first round, then played to his strengths in the final two rounds, bringing the fight to the floor and threatening with numerous submissions.
Soft-spoken and humble, McDonald has a chance to develop into one of the stars of the lighter weight classes. His youth will afford him the opportunity to be brought along slowly, and his impressive showing Saturday night introduced him to a new crop of fans who will surely want to see more “Mayday” in the future.
Don’t be surprised if McDonald is one of the faces of the mighty mites inside of three years.
HENDRICKS BECOMING A DARK HORSE CONTENDER
After his bout with Paulo Thiago was taken off the third UFC on Versus card due a late injury to the Brazilian, Johny Hendricks was eager to get back into the cage as quickly as he could. Unfortunately for T.J. Waldburger, that meant replacing Dennis Hallman on Saturday night.
A former standout at Oklahoma State, Hendricks continued his climb up the welterweight ladder with a blistering first round knockout win. A pair of lefts spelled the end for Waldburger, the first putting him off balance, the second sending him crashing to the canvas. While the Texan objected to the stoppage, it was the right call.
The victory moves Hendricks to 10-1 in his career and gets him back into the win column following his first career loss. With his outstanding wrestling base and heavy hands, the heavily bearded Hendricks has the skill set to be a dark horse contender in the deep 170-pound ranks for a long time to come.
UFC WILL RETURN TO SEATTLE
There was almost a packed house for the opening bout of the night. Not the opening bout of the main card, the opening bout period. People filed in early to catch Waylon Lowe and Nik Lentz grind on each other.
WIth a sold-out KeyArena full of raucous fight fans, there is no question the UFC will return to Seattle in the future. The only item that is up for debate is whether they bring another Fight Night/Versus event to the Pacific Northwest or if a pay-per-view is in this region’s future.
Though they’re not coaching on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter as many thought they would, bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz and the only man to beat him, Urijah Faber, are officially set to lock horns again this summer.
The UFC announced the bantamweight title bout prior to the start of Fight Night 24 via Twitter, setting off an instant round of early predictions from fans and media. This is a bout that has been anticipated since Faber made the move down from featherweight following his loss to Jose Aldo at WEC 48, and will be sure to generate a great deal of banter in the coming months.
Cruz and Faber have been at odds since the build up to their first meeting at WEC 26. That night, Faber was the defending champion and handed Cruz the first and only loss of his career.Now it will be Cruz coming in with the belt around his waist, attempting to defend the bantamweight belt he won from Brian Bowles for a third time.
