Marcus Davis vs. Dan Hardy
The second bout of the televised card is a welterweight matchup that promises to be an explosive slugfest as former pro boxer Marcus “The Irish Hand Grenade” Davis squares off against Cage Rage champion Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy. Both men are coming off quality wins, and both have the kind of punching power that gives their opponents nightmares, so this one could be over in a flash.
Dan Hardy, who made a name for himself in his native England by capturing titles in Cage Warriors and Cage Rage, has looked very impressive since making his UFC debut. First, he upset highly-regarded Akihiro Gono by split decision, and then completely lambasted Rory Markham in his second outing, knocking him out in just over a minute. A decent wrestler with passable submissions, Hardy’s best asset is his deadly, explosive punching, which has the potential to end any fight at any moment.
Marcus Davis is arguably the best technical boxer in UFC right now. His handspeed, accuracy, and footwork are certainly unparalleled at 170 pounds. Until recently, though, Davis found himself struggling to meet his potential because of his extremely spotty ground game. Davis, tired of losing because of his grappling, finally committed himself to becoming an actual MMA fighter, instead of a boxer with small gloves, and his improvement has been quite rapid. Against Hardy, though, I wouldn’t expect to see much of Davis’ ground skills, as Hardy will likely aggressively walk forward, allowing Davis to show off his vastly superior technique.
As good a fighter as Hardy is, he is going to have his hands full with Davis. Hardy’s best attribute is his vicious punching, but Davis’ technique, speed, and footwork are vastly superior.
I expect Davis to put on a clinic at Hardy’s expense, making the Brit pay for his aggression with surgical punching that will eventually overwhelm Hardy and earn Davis the KO victory in round 2.
