Daley vs. Hazelett
The co-main event of UFC 108 is a welterweight contest between two up and coming fighters as Paul Daley faces off with Dustin Hazelett.
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This fight was originally schedule to be Daley vs. Carlos Condit, but the former WEC champion had to pull out with an injury. Despite taking the fight on short notice, Hazelett is the slight favorite heading into the fight with a money line of -120 according to online sports book SPORTSBETTING.com. Daley’s line has been set at -110. Here is a closer look at both fighters heading into this main event bout, which will take place from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. on Saturday at 10PM ET on Pay-Per View.
Paul Daley (22-8-2):
Strengths: Daley is a powerful striker and that is what his game is all about. He has a Mike Tyson-like quality where he comes out and is very explosive and makes it very difficult for his opponents to get out of the first round. That is what happened to Martin Kampmann in their fight at UFC 103, as Daley just overwhelmed him with powerful strikes, earning the first round TKO. 17 of Daley’s wins have come by stoppage from strikes.
Weaknesses: Also like Tyson, Daley tends to gas himself out by coming out so fast. Daley has struggled against opponents that have survived his onslaught and went on to get him to the ground and submitting him. Daley doesn’t have much ground defense, so he must find a way to keep this fight standing against an excellent submission fighter in Hazelett.
Last Five Fights:
First round TKO win over Martin Kampmann at UFC 103 on Sept. 19, 2009
First round TKO win over Junior Barata at WFC 8 on April 18, 2009
First round KO win over Aurelijus Kerpe at Ultimate Gladiators on March 29, 2009
Unanimous decision loss to Nick Thompson at MFC 20 on Feb. 20, 2009
Second round TKO win over John Alessio at MFC 19 on Dec. 5, 2008
Dustin Hazelett (12-4):
Strengths: Hazelett is a great submission fighter that has shown he can pull off a submission from almost anywhere. Hazelett has won by submission in his last four victories. Hazelett has fought against some of the best in the UFC welterweight division, with his only notable loss coming against Josh Koscheck.
Weaknesses: Hazelett has not been a great striker, having relied mostly on his submission skills. His lack of striking is what led to his loss to Koscheck. Hazelett is also taking this fight on short notice, which can be difficult when facing an explosive fighter like Daley.
Last Five Fights:
First round submission win over Tamdan McCrory at UFC 91 on Nov. 15, 2008
Second round submission win over Josh Burkman at Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale on June 21, 2008
Second round TKO loss to Josh Koscheck at UFC 82 on March 1, 2008
First round submission win over Jonathan Goulet at UFC Fight Night 11 on Sept. 19, 2007
First round submission win over Steven Lynch at UFC 72 on June 16, 2007
Who will win: This fight is a big contrast in styles and the winning formula for both is pretty simple. Hazelett needs to get the fight to the ground and use his submission skills to get the win while Daley needs to keep the fight standing and overwhelm Hazelett on his feet. Daley has been preparing for this fight since his win at UFC 103, and we expect him to be in top form. Look for him to explode quickly on Hazlett and get the TKO win in the opening round.
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Posted: 1/1/10 12:20AM ET