Opponents’ styles clash in ‘Ultimate Fighter’ tilt

Had Mac Danzig and Tommy Speer matched up early in Season 6 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Danzig would have been an overwhelming favorite.

After all, the 27-year-old came into this season of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s Spike TV reality show as a fairly well-known commodity in the world of mixed martial arts, having competed in the Pride Fighting Championships and World Extreme Cagefighting.

Danzig also earned the King of the Cage lightweight championship, a belt that he successfully defended four times before losing it in January.

Speer, however, was a much lesser-known fighter who essentially relied on his natural strength to build a 9-1 record while competing in smaller organizations, though he did make one appearance on a WEC card in May.

Now that the two have made it through three rounds to set up a meeting for the season title at the Palms tonight, Danzig has been installed as a slight favorite.

The line makes sense to former welterweight champion Matt Hughes, who coached both fighters this season.

“Physically, Tommy’s gotten so much better, and mentally he knows where he has to be at now,” said Hughes, who has continued to work with Speer even after filming wrapped. “If that match would have been first, I agree that he would have been in a very difficult position. But, now that he’s gone through the show and gone home and trained hard, he might even be considered a slight favorite.”

Speer, a 23-year-old who comes from a town of fewer than 900 people in Minnesota, has gained a new outlook on his career from his success on the show.

“It has taught me the sport is right for me, and I wasn’t sure if it was,” he said. “If you would have told me I’d be in the finals, I would have said I made it by some sort of accident.”

Making it to the finals always was expected of Danzig, who has compiled a 16-4 record at a fairly high level.

“I feel like I can frustrate him,” Danzig said. “I will have to weather some storms and probably some hard punches, but I feel like I can use my experience to wear him down.”

He knows Speer possesses qualities that will be difficult to deal with. “It’s always difficult to fight someone who is unorthodox and has such power,” Danzig said. “But we prepared for him, and I’m looking to outsmart him.”

In the only lightweight fight on the card, Roger Huerta will meet Clay Guida in a main event bout where the winner further will ingrain himself in the crowded mix of contenders for the lightweight title, but both fighters’ styles figure to make for an entertaining fight either way.

“The key for me in this fight is to keep up my pace,” Guida said. “I fight with my heart, and I just come out swinging and keep going forward. I’m sure he will fight his usual style, and that’s why I think this could be the fight of the year.”

The nine-fight card featuring nearly every fighter from the season begins at 4 p.m., with the televised portion beginning at 6. It will be tape-delayed on Cox Cable on Spike at 9 p.m.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@ reviewjournal.com or (702) 224-5509.