UFC Fight Night 24 Card

Written by Jake Thompson
Thursday, 17 March 2011 09:25

The March 26th date of the UFC Fight Night 24 card is fast approaching, and we wanted to preview the event and make some predictions.

Spike TV will show four live fights at UFC Fight Night 24 and there are also some incredible preliminary bouts on the card that are potentially making their way onto television.  PRIDE legend Antonio Rogerio Nogueira will be pitted against Phil Davis in the UFC Fight Night 24 main event, while other fights on the card include Dan Hardy doing battle with Anthony Johnson, Ultimate Fighter veterans Amir Sadollah and DeMarques Johnson clashing, and a rematch of a potential Fight of the Year candidate when Leonard Garcia takes on “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung.  We’ll preview the main fights and take a look at the entire UFC Fight Night 24 card while releasing predictions on the probable outcomes in the process.

UFC Fight Night 24 Card – On Spike TV

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (19-4) vs. Phil Davis (8-0)

The lighter of the two Nogueira twins in the UFC, Antonio Rogerio has excellent boxing and submission skills but has struggled recently with top-end wrestlers.  Many think he lost in his split decision win against Jason Brilz before Ryan Bader controlled him the entire way as the former PRIDE stalwart fell by way of unanimous decision.  Davis is a more accomplished collegiate wrestler than both of those guys and he’s also developing a striking and submission game that make him one of the top prospects in the sport.  Nogueira did take home a win against a great wrestler in Dan Henderson but that was back in 2005.  Davis is younger and has the perfect formula to take out Nogueira and I expect the former Penn State standout to get the decision victory while being on top for much of the fight.

Dan Hardy vs. Anthony Johnson

This should be one of the best at UFC Fight Night 24 and both Hardy and Johnson have heavy hands and the chins to make their somewhat aggressive striking not nearly as dangerous as it would be for others.  Hardy is coming off of a knockout loss at the hands of Carlos Condit, but don’t start thinking that he can’t take a punch.  The guy has a granite chin and it will be interesting to see if he fights a more technical bout against the always dangerous Johnson.  “Rumble” Johnson is massive for that weight class and I could see him using his size to take the fight to the ground if need be.  Ultimately I feel that Johnson’s size and strength advantages will be enough to get him a decision win against the scrappy and tough Hardy.

Amir Sadollah vs. DeMarques Johnson

Sadollah has excellent technical Muay Thai striking but gets into trouble against guys that take him down and have the ability to avoid his tricky submissions.  Johnson isn’t a dominant wrestler but he has some submission wrestling expertise from being tutored by Jeremy Horn for many years.  Sadollah has a tricky ground game but Johnson resembles Horn quite a bit and I’m sure he has quite a few tricks up his sleeve as well.  It’s tough to say whether or not Johnson will be able to get the takedown but I see some incredible scrambles if he does.  Both of these guys go for it on the ground and neither really has shown they ever want to play it safe.  UFC Fight Night 24 predictions here are difficult to make but I’m going to say that Johnson is tough enough to eat some punches, get the takedown, engage in a scramble, and eventually secure a submission that forces Sadollah to tap.

Leonard Garcia vs. Chan Sung Jung

This fight on the UFC Fight Night 24 card was originally supposed to be a rematch of a fight between Nam Phan and Garcia that many felt Garcia was gifted a decision in a fight that he lost.  Phan had to pull out because of injury and instead we get to see “The Korean Zombie” fight Garcia in another rematch of a fight that many felt Garcia was extremely lucky to win on the scorecards.  The Korean has sloppy striking and an iron jaw until George Roop knocked him out cold with a head kick in his last fight.  Garcia has sloppy striking, an iron jaw, and a relentless attack pace that often makes judges think that he’s doing the majority of the damage even when he’s getting the worst of the action.  Because of the recent loss, Jung has vowed to not fight in his familiar “Korean Zombie” way and will instead look to use his ground game more readily.  Garcia isn’t easy to take down but I still expect Jung to get the takedown eventually before forcing the tap after the grounded fight tries to get back to his feet.

UFC Fight Night 24 Card – Preliminary Fights

Alex Caceres vs. Mackens Semerzier

Jon Madsen vs. Mike Russow

John Hathaway vs. Kris McCray

Edwin Figueroa vs. Michael McDonald

Sean McCorkle vs. Christian Morecraft

Aaron Simpson vs. Mario Miranda

Johny Hendricks vs. T.J. Waldburger

Waylon Lowe vs. Nik Lentz