UFC 112 Preview: The Prelims
Gustafsson vs. Davis
Apr 9, 2010
The UFC goes to Nermal’s least favorite vacation destination on
Saturday with its first foray to Abu Dhabi. The prelim portion of
the evening is serious business with several of the UFC’s premier
prospects lined up for star-making turns and some quality
matchmaking that has me wondering if a trip to Abu Dhabi is a
worthwhile investment.
Whether you’re hyped up for the return of mega-wrestler Phil Davis, the lightweight debut of perpetual Fight of the Night contender Paul Taylor or the total buffet of major league violence at hand, you need to get your knowledge lined up proper. So read on and remember that all predictions are for entertainment purposes only.
I find everyone’s reaction to them very entertaining.
Alexander Gustafsson vs. Phil Davis
The Breakdown: Pour one out for Alexander Gustafsson and any other prospect soon to be tossed to the meat-grinder-in-training that is Phil Davis. Pour one out because Gustafsson is a decent prospect in his own right. He actually turned some heads when he blasted Jared Hamman at UFC 109. Of course, Hamman was more than willing to play “Super Punch-Out” with his Swedish counterpart while Davis is more likely to turn this fight into a master’s course on wrestling.
A stellar collegiate wrestler whose game has transitioned beautifully to the realm of broken bones and shattered egos, Davis’ Octagon debut at UFC 109 saw him manhandle Brian Stann. More importantly, Davis showed a flair for offensive grappling uncommon in more conservative wrestling converts as well as the intelligence to avoid unnecessary striking exchanges. So while it’s no secret that Gustafsson could out-strike him given the opportunity, odds are he won’t get that opportunity.
The ability to dictate the terms of a fight is a supremely important skill, and dominant wrestling ability is the most straightforward path to doing so. Gustafsson lacks not only the takedown defense to stop Davis’ wrestling, but any sort of secondary skill that could conceivably give him pause. And given Davis’ natural aptitude for Brazilian jiu-jitsu, it would be hard to imagine a one-note boxer/puncher like Gustafsson going all Rickson Gracie on him.
The Bottom Line: Brian Stann is essentially a more well-rounded version of Gustafsson, and the best he could do against Davis was make it to a decision. The positional dominance of Davis will leave Gustafsson with one of two options: either he resigns himself to a one-sided decision loss or he goes into desperation mode and makes some fight-ending mistakes.
Whether you’re hyped up for the return of mega-wrestler Phil Davis, the lightweight debut of perpetual Fight of the Night contender Paul Taylor or the total buffet of major league violence at hand, you need to get your knowledge lined up proper. So read on and remember that all predictions are for entertainment purposes only.
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Alexander Gustafsson vs. Phil Davis
The Breakdown: Pour one out for Alexander Gustafsson and any other prospect soon to be tossed to the meat-grinder-in-training that is Phil Davis. Pour one out because Gustafsson is a decent prospect in his own right. He actually turned some heads when he blasted Jared Hamman at UFC 109. Of course, Hamman was more than willing to play “Super Punch-Out” with his Swedish counterpart while Davis is more likely to turn this fight into a master’s course on wrestling.
A stellar collegiate wrestler whose game has transitioned beautifully to the realm of broken bones and shattered egos, Davis’ Octagon debut at UFC 109 saw him manhandle Brian Stann. More importantly, Davis showed a flair for offensive grappling uncommon in more conservative wrestling converts as well as the intelligence to avoid unnecessary striking exchanges. So while it’s no secret that Gustafsson could out-strike him given the opportunity, odds are he won’t get that opportunity.
The ability to dictate the terms of a fight is a supremely important skill, and dominant wrestling ability is the most straightforward path to doing so. Gustafsson lacks not only the takedown defense to stop Davis’ wrestling, but any sort of secondary skill that could conceivably give him pause. And given Davis’ natural aptitude for Brazilian jiu-jitsu, it would be hard to imagine a one-note boxer/puncher like Gustafsson going all Rickson Gracie on him.
The Bottom Line: Brian Stann is essentially a more well-rounded version of Gustafsson, and the best he could do against Davis was make it to a decision. The positional dominance of Davis will leave Gustafsson with one of two options: either he resigns himself to a one-sided decision loss or he goes into desperation mode and makes some fight-ending mistakes.
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