I absolutely love it. We just experienced UFC 133 this past weekend which turned out to be a decent event with all things considered, and now we turn our focus to the UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle event that will take place this coming Sunday night and will air for FREE on the Versus channel.

There are some great fights on this card and I’m definitely looking forward to the event. I only have one complaint and that is that this event should be headlined by the Jim Miller vs. Ben Henderson fight. How Dan Hardy vs. Chris Lytle get to headline an event with BOTH fighters coming off losses is beyond me. But I digress, and I’ll get to the purpose of this piece:

Dan Hardy is a fighter that has lost his last three fights in a row which started with his title fight loss to Georges St-Pierre. He’s a fighter who likes to stand and bang and he’ll be facing a guy that likes to do the same thing(probably why they are headlining the event). However, that doesn’t change the fact that Hardy has serious holes in his game when it comes to takedown defense and ground game. The odds of him competing for the title again are slim in a division full of wrestlers. He could be of some value should the UFC hold a show in the UK, but would the UFC keep him around if he takes his fourth loss in a row?

Miller’s only two career losses have come at the expense of the two fighters that will battle in the UFC lightweight title fight in a few weeks in Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar. Miller is 9-1 in the UFC reeling off 7 straight wins(4 finishes) since losing to Gray Maynard via decision over 2 years ago. He hasn’t fought any elite lightweights, but he has beaten some tough guys along the way. Miller vs. Henderson should be a great fight and with an impressive victory it’s possible that Miller could be granted a title shot, or the UFC may have him face Melvin Guillard for the #1 contender spot. Guillard mentioned Miller in an interview after his last win and both seemed open to that fight as well, granted Miller would take the title shot if offered.

  • Will Donald Cerrone throw his big ol Tapout cowboy hat into the ‘mix of contenders’ in the UFC lightweight division with a win over Charles Oliveira?

This is the fight that I’m most looking forward to as Oliveira does not know how to be involved in a boring fight. Cerrone brings it as well when facing an opponent that’s aggressive. Cerrone has won four fights in a row(2 in the UFC) since the WEC merged with the UFC while Oliveira is 2-1 with his only loss coming against the aforementioned Jim Miller. Oliveira should be 3-1 in the UFC, but his last fight was ruled a ‘no contest’ since he landed an unintentional illegal knee to his opponent before getting the finish. Actually, whoever wins this fight will possibly be putting their names in the mix should they win. I went with Cerrone since he has won more in a row. This one should be fireworks.

The preliminary fights have some notables that may appear on the live broadcast if time permits. Joseph Benavidez, Ed Herman, and Jacob Volkmann will be looking to add to their win totals as well. Be sure to visit Pro MMA Now every day this week to check out the fight previews for the main card fights. Let’s see if I can keep my undefeated streak going with a card that will certainly have to difficult matchups to predict.

3 thoughts on “Three questions heading into UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle”
  1. “He hasn’t fought any elite lightweights,”

    The most important thing people overlook when hyping his record. But when your ten and one in the UFC (if he wins) it’s hard to stay away from the title.

    I take it from your article you’re goint with Cowboy, Miller, and Lytle?

  2. Yea…plus…with Alvarez, Aoki, and Melendez being out of the UFC…and then Florian moving to FW..it made it tough for him to fight elite guys…

    I haven’t decided who I’m picking yet..some tough fights to call.

  3. The thing for me is he really hasn’t fought anybody in that 5-15 range either. Who was the highest guy, Tibau? Bocek (which I still think he lost)? Oliveira after the win over Escudero?

    Damn good free event.

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