...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
UFC Fight Night 24 takes place from Seattle's KeyArena tomorrow night, airing live on Spike TV (and with a number of fights coming to Facebook.com). It's an exciting card that should provide a lot of entertainment during the broadcast, and here are my picks for the fights in the UFC's first ever trip to Washington state.
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Phil Davis: Nogueira's a longtime veteran that has found a bit of kryptonite in recent fights against high-level wrestlers. He squeaked out a decision against Jason Brilz, and narrowly lost one to Ryan Bader in 2010, and now he's got another high level wrestler to face off with in Davis. His striking game is a definite advantage in his favor, but Davis comes into this fight the favorite for a reason. His wrestling game, transition game and his penchant for attempting submissions should allow him to control at least two rounds, and I like Phil Davis by decision.
Anthony "Rumble" Johnson vs. Dan Hardy: This is likely to be a slug fest for the first round, but there's no telling what Johnson's cardio is going to be like after a 15 month layoff and a horrendous weight cut. I hope he at least makes weight for the fight, but that's going to be a detriment for him in this one. Ultimately, while both hit really hard, I think Hardy's going to be smarter than to step into the power that Johnson has, and Johnson's not easy to finish. So I've got Dan Hardy by decision in an entertaining fight.
Amir Sadollah vs. DaMarques Johnson: Johnson's coming into this one as a late replacement, but I think he's a very big challenge for Sadollah in this fight. Sadollah is 4-2 in the UFC, and has a better striking game than Johnson at this point, but Johnson's ground game is underrated, and I think he'll get the fight there enough and control enough of the action on the ground to win two rounds in this one. DaMarques Johnson by decision.
Leonard Garcia vs. Chan Sung Jung: This fight won't be anywhere near as fun as the first one, but it should still provide an entertaining fight. Both fighters have talked about changing their styles, but honestly it's likely to be a similar "hit-and-get-hit-back" type fight for both fighters. I thought Jung won the first one, but with how we've seen things go in Garcia's fights I don't trust the judges to give us anything but Leonard Garcia by decision.
=====FACEBOOK PRELIMS=====
Alex Caceres vs. Mackens Semerzier: Semerzier arguably won his last fight against Cub Swanson, and though he also lost to Javier Vasquez by submission and Deividas Taurosevicius he's a very dangerous fight for Caceres. Caceres was a character on TUF, but I don't see Bruce Leroy taking it to Semerzier here. Mackens Semerzier by submission in the second.
Jon Madsen vs. Mike Russow: Russow's got a ridiculous chin as seen in his come from behind win over Todd Duffee last May. But Madsen is far too good in his top control game. He turned on the ground and pound against Yvel, and while he'll do the same here I can't see him finishing Russow. Jon Madsen by decision.
John Hathaway vs. Kris McCray: Hathaway's hype train came to a halt against Mike Pyle last fall, but he's still a good welterweight prospect. McCray's got a good wrestling game, but I don't think it'll be enough against the Brit looking to make an impression after a disappointing performance. John Hathaway by TKO in the second round.
Michael McDonald vs. Edwin Figueroa: Figueroa stepped in on short notice, but the 20-year-old McDonald is a buzzsaw. This should be a showcase win for him on Facebook. Michael McDonald by TKO in the first round.
Sean McCorkle vs. Christian Morecraft: Morecraft hits hard, McCorkle's got a good submission game. Haven't seen much of Morecraft on the ground, and though he can hurt McCorkle in this one he could still get caught. Coin flip I'll take Sean McCorkle by submission in the first round.
=====PRELIMINARY CARD QUICK PICKS=====
* Johny Hendricks over T.J. Waldburger via TKO in the second
* Mario Miranda over Aaron Simpson via decision
* Nik Lentz over Waylon Lowe via decision
DON'T GO YET... WE SUGGEST THESE MMATORCH ARTICLES, TOO!
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
Interested in joining MMATorch's writing team? Send idea for a theme to your column (for Specialist section) or area of interest (i.e. TV Reporter) along with a sample of writing to mmatorch@gmail.com.
