Nate Diaz vs. Marcus Davis Fight Prediction - UFC 118 

MARCUS DAVIS vs. NATE DIAZ

Fight Overview: Ultimate Fighter Season 5 winner Nate Diaz returns to the Welterweight division for the second time against skilled boxer Marcus Davis. Diaz is known as a grappler while Davis is known as a boxer, but Diaz has deadly boxing and Davis has great submissions, so this is going to be a competitive fight.

Davis' Strengths: Davis has excellent technical boxing, with good accuracy, handspeed, and power. He also has very underrated submissions and submission defense. He is also notoriously difficult to finish.

Davis' Weaknesses: His ground game is not on the same level as Diaz's.

Diaz's Strengths: Diaz has very unorthodox but effective boxing, much like his brother Nick. His punches look awkward and come from strange angles, but he can keep firing until opponents are overwhelmed. He also has very good takedowns with clinch throws and some of the best submissions in the Welterweight division.

Diaz's Weaknesses: He lacks Davis' fight-changing punching power and is not a very big Welterweight, having just come up from 155.

The Verdict: I think this one favors Diaz stylistically. Davis has more power on the feet and is the more technical boxer, but Diaz's boxing style is notoriously hard to deal with. More importantly, Diaz can work a clinch game and try to get this fight to the ground if he gets in trouble standing, whereas Davis would be jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire if he tried to put Diaz on his back. I see Diaz frustrating Davis standing, scoring some points with judo throws, and earning the unanimous decision win.

Fight Prediction:  Nate Diaz by unanimous decision.

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