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By: Jason Bent, MMATorch Columnist This fight has now gone from being relegated to the prelims to now having a place on the main portion of the PPV telecast; and while I am disappointed in not getting the chance to see Sadollah vs. Catone, I could not be happier for the fact that this fight is now going to be in a spot which it so rightly deserves. Dustin Hazelett vs. Tamdan McCrory is a fight I have been anticipating for some time now and has all the makings of a great one. This could be a fight that could steal the show from others on the undercard. Two highly regarded welterweight prospects are going to go head to head, and this is a rare opportunity to see what could possibly determine who shall be the future of the division.
Dustin Hazelett is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, being awarded this honor just two months ago when Jorge Gurgel made the decision without even a second thought as he deemed Hazelett his star pupil. Dustin is every bit the natural at BJJ as he earned this distinction after less than six years of training, and this is a testament as to how special he is indeed.
Hazelett turned pro shortly after his 18th birthday, and he has proven to be quite the MMA prodigy as well as he has already fought 6 times for the UFC by the age of 22. Dustin has been a well kept secret for far too long and this fight is his chance to break out, and do so in front of what should be a record audience. This is certainly quite an opportunity for this young man and his track record shows that he makes the most of it at all times.
Dustin Hazelett has an overall record of 11 wins against 4 losses, with one win coming by way of knockout and eight by way of submission. His UFC record stands at four wins against two losses with three of the victories being due to submission and one by way of a decision. His defeats in the UFC have happened at the hands of Tony DeSouza and Josh Koscheck, and in both cases he simply lost to the more experienced fighter who was simply at a higher level in the sport.
Dustin proved his mettle against Josh Burkman at "The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale" and took home both fight of the night honors as well as submission of the night due to his arm bar submission of the ever durable aforementioned opponent. This fight put his name on the map and into the collective conscience of the casual MMA fans, who were able to perhaps ascertain why this fighter had been so hyped by the hardcores as a force to be reckoned with. His fight with McCrory on the UFC 91 PPV can go a long way towards establishing that he is the real deal as well as making it known that he is a future star in this division as well as the sport. There is no foreseeable way that Hazelett will not be ready for this one.
Tamdan McCrory can best be described as awkward and I mean this as no slight to him whatsoever. This is a lithe, slight looking man who is curiously capable of doling out a beating on just about anyone who wishes to sneer at him. Imagine if when you were in high school and the perpetual bullied nerd could have been capable of slapping a triangle choke on the captain of the football team, and you will get a mental image of how McCrory's looks can be ever so deceiving.
McCroy has a Bachelor's degree in Kinesiology, and he is not the prototypical fighter who left high school, facing a career of digging ditches if his fighting career were to fail. This, in my estimation, can make for a more dangerous foe because he is then fighting out of sheer love for the sport and not because it may be the only way that he could eke out some kind of existence.
Tamdan McCrory has an overall record of nine wins against only one loss with six coming by way of knockout, two by submission and one decision victory. His UFC record stands at two wins against one loss, with his wins coming against the likes of Pete Spratt and Luke Cummo. His one defeat came at the hands of Akihiro Gono at UFC 78 when Gono forced a submission due to arm bar.
McCrory has been spectacular in victory, as both Spratt and Cummo are not pushovers by any stretch of the imagination; and it was particularly impressive in that he was able to submit Spratt with such relative ease. His fight with Cummo has been the only one to go the distance as of yet and this fight with Hazelett could become his second, as it is possible that this one could be quite the chess match for three rounds. McCrory's power is deceptive and this is certainly his advantage in this fight as he could be the stronger of the two but he is treading dangerous water against the black belt in Hazelett.
For Dustin Hazelett to win this fight he is going to have to utilize his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills to their fullest advantage and immediately neutralize the strength advantage that McCrory may indeed possess. Hazelett's boxing skills are not too shabby either, and he could use this as a way to engage McCrory if he finds his opponent is being way too tentative in going in for the takedown.
Dustin should be able to control this fight but he is going to have to be aggressive in my opinion if he wishes to maintain control throughout. Hazelett can end this fight very easily from his back and at the same time he is also capable of doing damage from on top and while he has the skills to win any fight with ease it is a guarantee that this one is not going to come easily.
For Tamdan McCrory to win this fight he is going to need to be aggressive from the start, but he needs to constantly be thinking one move ahead as he can ill afford to make even the slightest mistake against the black belt. Strength is going to be Tamdan's advantage going in, but Hazelett has the ability to turn this against him in no time; and McCrory's success is going to depend on how intelligent of a game plan that he brings into the Octagon.
At no time should any fighter be counted out of a fight, and I can guarantee that McCrory is going to be perfectly prepared for battle, but in all actuality he could be facing an opponent who is just simply too good at everything in order to find a way to win. McCrory has heart and he is an intelligent fighter, and he should prove to be capable of taking this one deep or possibly to the scorecards. His chance to win could come by way of the scorecards if he is capable of doing just a little bit more than his opponent in each round.
Bent's prediction: Dustin Hazelett by submission in the 3rd round.
I love Tamdan McCrory, and am giving him a lot of respect in stating that I believe he can successfully take this one into the 3rd round; but I feel he is simply going up against an opponent who is just too dangerous, and one who will be able to take advantage of even the slightest misstep or mistake. McCrory would have to fight the perfect fight to win this fight and I simply do not see him doing so against Dustin Hazelett.
This fight could definitely be the one to challenge Maia for submission of the night honors and should be a blast to watch for both the purists as well as the casual fans. The news of Sadollah not being able to compete is decidedly bad but things are looking up if for only this fight having the chance to take place on the main portion of the broadcast, and this makes the best out of what is definitely a bad situation.
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