Mac Danzig to take on Joe Stevenson for UFC 124

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 21: UFC fighter Joe Stevenson (L) battles UFC fighter George Sotiropoulos during their Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight fight at Acer Arena on February 21, 2010 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)

Nate Lawson of HeavyMMA.com is reporting that a lightweight bout between “Ultimate Fighter” winners Joe Stevenson and Mac Danzig will take place at UFC 124 this December.

Both Danzig and Stevenson have struggled as of late to live up to the expectations their success on the reality series earned them. They have gone a combined 9-9 since each won his respective season of “The Ultimate Fighter”.

Stevenson, however, has had the greater success of the two, even climbing the ranks years ago to earn a title shot. He followed his “Ultimate Fighter” with four wins to only one loss, but fell short to B.J. Penn when he fought him for the 155-pound title. In his last outing, Stevenson fell short to George Sotiropoulous at UFC 110 on the judges’ scorecards.

Like his upcoming opponent, Danzig has struggled immensely as of late, winning only once in his last five showings. He dropped three consecutive fights between September of 2008 and July of 2009, but snapped the downslide with a unanimous decision victory over Justin Buchholz at UFC 109. However, a controversial submission loss to Matt Wiman at UFC 115 derailed a potential winning streak.

The lightweight bout is set for UFC 124 on December 11 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The main event of the card features a welterweight title bout between champion Georges St. Pierre and top contender Josh Koscheck. The only other fights to be made official by the promotion are Matt Riddle vs. Anthony Waldburger and Mark Bocek vs. Dustin Hazellet.

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Saturday MMA Review: 6/20

Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:

– Rich Franklin edged out Wanderlei Silva and Cain Velasquez dominated Cheick Kongo at UFC 99 last Saturday. Also, Mirko Cro Cop defeated Mostapha Al Turk via illegal eye-pokes, then told the UFC to kiss his ass.

– We saw some crazy knockouts this week, including Tim Sylvia getting wrecked by a 50-year old boxer, a brilliant flying knee KO at a Bellator show [http://www.cagepotato.com/knockout-day-nick-pace-wrecks-collin-tebo-bellator-xi], and a 9-second head-kick finish followed by a flying referee tackle.

– Brock Lesnar is built like a black man, still not a fan of the gays.

– Team U.K.’s James Wilks cruised to the welterweight finals on Wednesday’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter, ending a season that didn’t really live up to the hype.

– MMA model Penny Mathis’s breasts may not be real, but they’re still fabulous.

– Shaquille O’Neal is seriously considering a switch to MMA after finishing his basketball career, and wants to start off by beating up the giant Korean who smashed Jose Canseco.

– When Cris Cyborg chokes out a reporter, that’s just her polite way of saying she’s finished with the interview.

– Come back tonight [Saturday] at 9 p.m. ET/PT for our liveblog of the Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale show, which will feature Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida, Nate Diaz vs. Joe Stevenson, and the lightweight and welterweight TUF finals. And check out our exclusive interviews with Sanchez, Stevenson, and Chris Lytle.

Ultimate Fighter Live Finale Preview

The Ultimate Fighter Nine Finals take place tonight with the live Ultimate Fighter Finale on Spike TV at 9 p.m. ET. The main card will feature five fights including the two championship bouts for the Ultimate Fighter reality show. Overall, it is a nice card featuring the lighter weights in the UFC, which tend to provide stronger fights and better pacing. Here is a breakdown of the card and my predictions (I was 5-for-6 last weekend!!) for tonight’s show.

Lightweight bout (155 lbs) – Diego Sanchez (23-2) vs. Clay Guida (25-9): This fight should be a war as both fighters have great motors and even better stamina. Sanchez has lost just two times in his career, both by decision, but is in just his second fight at lightweight in the UFC. His previous fight was a lackluster decision win over Joe Stevenson where Sanchez picked Stevenson apart on their feet. Guida won’t be quite that easy. The rocker has a fighting style and energy that makes it hard for you to not cheer for him and I think he will be the first fighter to really push Sanchez around in terms of pacing and octagon control. The key in this fight will be if Guida has the size to control the bigger Sanchez on the ground and if he can fight off his back. I would like to say I see Guida winning this fight, but I think Sanchez’ size and speed will ultimately earn him another decision win.

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