Marcus Davis vs. Chris Lytle
In a bout which promises some explosive standup, heavy handed UFC veterans Marcus “THe Irish Hand Grenade” Davis and Chris “Lights Out” Lytle will go toe to toe. While both men also have solid submission games, it’s a safe bet that this one will be a stand up war, as words have been exchanged between the two fighters in the runup to the fight, with both promising to bang it out, and Davis asserting that whoever tries to take the fight to the ground is a pussy. Davis -135 / Lytle +105
Since losing to Melvin Guillard on the Ultimate Fighter 2 finale, Davis has put together an extremely impressive record, winning 12 of his last 13 fights. A former professional boxer, Davis’ punching power and handspeed are virtually unmatched in his weight class. In addition, since The Ultimate Fighter, Davis has grown tremendously as a fighter, developing a decent ground game to go with his tremendous standup. In addition, Davis is clearly motivated for this fight, going so far as to say that Lytle does not deserve a chance to fight him.
In one sense, Davis may have a point. Lytle has won only four of his last eight bouts, although all of the losses were to top-level opponents. Stylistically, though, this is not a good matchup for Lytle at all. Fan pressure and the pre-fight talking are almost assured to turn this bout into a slugfest, and in that kind of fight, Lytle is simply overmatched. His standup is very good, and he certainly has knockout power, but his accuracy, footwork, and handspeed can not compete with Davis’.
This fight will probably mark a first, as neither man has ever been stopped by strikes. With two such high-calibre strikers going toe to toe, though, it is difficult to believe that this fight will make it to the closing bell.
I see Davis’ superior technique as the deciding factor in this one. Davis by TKO, round 2.
