· UFC Fight Night 24 Preview: Is it Davis’ Time Too?

Coffee, the Space Needle, and rain are set to welcome the UFC to Seattle for the first time, and one of the organization’s rare trips to the Pacific Northwest is shaping up to be a successful event.

One week after Jon Jones became the youngest UFC champion in history, a man who could one day challenge him will be in action in the main event on Spike TV. Phil Davis (8-0, 4-0 UFC), a former NCAA Division-I wrestling champion, will look to stay unbeaten when he takes on Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (19-4, 2-1 UFC) in a light heavyweight tilt.

Known as one of the most powerful fighters in the sport, the 26-year-old Pennsylvanian Davis has been competing on a high level in combat sports for most of his life. Although he admits that he is not rushing the Jones matchup, many fans have already started salivating at two of the “next generation” of UFC stars facing off.

Nogueira, who was one of the biggest free agent coups in the sport when he was signed to the UFC, is looking to rebound from his first loss since 2007, and a span of seven fights that saw him fight all around the world. “Lil Nog” fell via unanimous decision to Ryan Bader on a lackluster UFC 119 card, and many have already forgotten that fight. That may turn out to be a good thing for Nogueira, who would rather start building toward a title shot then dwell on the defeat.

With Davis as a late replacement for an injured Tito Ortiz, this fight suddenly means a whole lot more than it ever could with Ortiz in the main event. While Davis is not nearly as big of a draw right now, he and this card will capitalize on the massive media attention that the UFC received with the Jon Jones win at UFC 128.

Hardy, Johnson Ready To Bang

While the main event is the fight that most fans will tune in to see, one that may steal the spotlight is a matchup between welterweights Dan Hardy (23-8, 4-2 UFC) and Anthony Johnson (8-3, 5-3 UFC). Fighting for a title with many people picking him to win a year ago, Hardy will now be fighting to stay relevant in one of the UFC’s deepest weight classes. A knockout loss to Carlos Condit followed a one-sided loss to Georges St-Pierre, and all of a sudden one of the most charismatic fighters in the sport could be fighting for his UFC life.

Once thought to be one of the toughest eventual tests for St-Pierre, Johnson is now fighting for the first time in 16 months. Three straight knockout wins had preceded a co-main event matchup with Josh Koscheck at UFC 106, and many speculated that the one-time super-prospect could be given a title shot if victorious in that fight.

Both fighters know that this fight could be a make or break moment in their UFC careers, and each man must be going into this matchup knowing that their roster spot is not secured with a loss. Knowing that, both will likely be looking to land a big punch to end the other’s night early, and that could bode well for a potential fight of the night.

Johnson, Sadollah Ready For TUF Fight

In another welterweight bout, two fighters who took the "The Ultimate Fighter" route to the UFC are looking to start a winning streak as TUF 7 champion Amir Sadollah (4-2, 4-2 UFC) will take on TUF 9 runner-up DaMarques Johnson (12-8, 3-2 UFC) in a 170-pound bout. Both fighters were darkhorses during the reality show, but emerged as favorites to be eventual UFC stars before the season was over.

Sadollah broke out as a technical striker and smart fighter during his season, submitting C.B. Dollaway twice to win the tournament. Since then, he has struggled to be consistent, earning impressive wins over middling competition in Phil Baroni, Brad Blackburn, and Peter Sobotta, while losing both of his “step up” fights to Johny Hendricks and Dong Hyun Kim. This fight with Johnson is a chance for Sadollah to prove that he can beat a fighter with some good potential, but it is also a chance for him to prove that he may never be championship material in the UFC.

Johnson has developed a reputation as a fan favorite and a fighter who is involved in finishes, as none of his five UFC fights have seen the scorecards. Another fun part about seeing Johnson fight is that you never know exactly how his fights are going to end. His three UFC victories have come via triangle choke, a body kick TKO, and a body triangle submission in his most recent victory over Mike Guymon.

One fighter will continue to move up the UFC ladder, while the other could be on the chopping block and one more loss could spell a UFC exile.

Part Deux: Will Lighting Strike Again?

Remember the WEC’s version of Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar I when Leonard Garcia (15-6-1, 7-5-1 Zuffa) and Chan Sung Jung (10-3, 0-2 Zuffa) threw bombs and kept coming forward on the preliminary card at “Aldo vs. Faber” a year ago? If you’ve been one of the many fans clamoring for a rematch of that fight, then you’ll get your wish to open up the Fight Night broadcast on Saturday night. Jung is a late replacement for another fighter who wanted revenge against Garcia in Nam Phan, and “The Korean Zombie” must know that his roster spot could be on the line if he loses after falling to defeat twice during his WEC days.

While so many fans wonder how he stays in fights, Garcia has survived throughout his career by using a haymaker striking style to go along with a solid chin that has saw him never be knocked out during a 20-fight career. Judges also seem to like his aggressive style, as he seems to come out on the favorable end of decisions whether he is effective or not.

Perhaps the best strategy for Jung here would be to grapple with Garcia, but he’ll most likely try to put on another show for the fans when he stands toe-to-toe and trades with “Bad Boy.”