Lytle vs Hardy Preview and the 15 Most Impressive Finishes in the UFC of 2011

Sunday night in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Dan Hardy and Chris Lytle will square of in a welterweight match up that has fight of the year written all over it. Both men always leave it all inside the octagon. Both men are coming off of a loss, and need to redeem themselves, especially Hardy who has lost his last three fights. 

Chris Lytle is an extremely well-rounded fighter. He is a former high school wrestler, pro boxer and is also a second degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. His MMA record is 30-18-5, he lost 16 of the 18 fights by decision and the other two losses were due to doctor stoppages. Lytle is as tough as they come. As a pro boxer he compiled a 13-1-1  and was an Indiana state champion, defending his belt two times. At almost 37 years old, his career is coming to a close, but he is in arguably the best shape of his life. 

Lytle is the type of fighter that lays it on you. He is extremely active throughout the whole fight. He likes to stand and trade, but when the time is right he isn't afraid to take you down and submit you. In his bout with Hardy, the smart thing would be to take the fight to the ground, where Hardy lacks experience but will never give up. 

Dan Hardy is one of the most well liked fighters in the UFC. He is all about his fans, and always shows up to put on an exciting show. He is primarily a striker, but has recently started training with Roy Nelson to improve his ground game. He has lost three fights in a row, if he loses this there is a high chance he will be cut unless the UFC wants to save him for a card overseas, due to his popularity. 

Hardy needs to keep his distance and play this fight smart. He needs to cut off Lytle and counter his punches. He also needs to maintain octagon control. If he doesn't then it maybe a long night for him, because Lytle will be able to score take down after take down.

These two men are a great match up for each other, and with eight post fight bonuses under his belt this fight sets Lytle up for a ninth. This fight will be at a fast pace, most likely with Lytle getting the better of Hardy in the take down department. This fight will be back and fourth, but Lytle should catch him in the second round with an impressive submission, and possibly taking submission of the night honors. 

This truly should be an impressive fight, now let's take a look at the ten most impressive finishes in the UFC so far in 2011.

Honorable Mention

Alexander Gustaffson vs Matt Hamill

John Makdessi vs Kyle Watson

Rory Macdonald vs Mike Pyle

Brian Ebersole vs Dennis Hallman

Vitor Belfort vs Yoshihiro Akiyama

Matt Mitrione vs Tim Hague

Pablo Garza vs Yves Jabouin

Tony Ferguson vs Ramsey Nijem 

Brendan Schaub vs Mirko Cro Cop at UFC 128

Mirko Cro Cop was at one time the most feared striker on the planet. We all knew that his career was coming to an end, but seeing him get KO'd the way we did is not what we like to see. Brendan Schaub is a fast rising prospect and that KO really looks good on his resume. He will now face another legend when he squares off with Nogueira at UFC 134, while Cro Cop gets Roy Nelson at UFC 137.

Tito Ortiz vs Ryan Bader at UFC 132

It has been four years since the last time we were able to see Tito do his gravedigger routine post fight. At UFC 132 he was given Ryan Bader and in the fight he caught him with a solid right hand, Bader dropped and Tito scored the guillotine and victory. Very impressive victory for Ortiz.

Melvin Guillard vs Shane Roller at UFC 132

Melvin Guillard has been on a warpath, crushing his opponents on his way to a title shot. Each fight he gets better and better and at UFC 132, he ran through Shane Roller with no problem at all. The lightweight division is a big question mark when it comes to deciding where someone is ranked in term of contender wise, but there is no doubt that Melvin is top five, and he will now face Joe Lauzon at UFC 136.

Mark Hunt vs Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 127

Mark Hunt is one of the best strikers in the world today that people do not know much about. He is a former K-1 World Grand Prix champion, and had lost 6 MMA bouts in a row. He had always faced top competition, and when given Chris Tuchscherer he scored the KO that he had been wanting to land for a while now. It was an amazing KO and with a record of 6-7 Hunt is the only fighter on the UFC roster with a losing record, and in new fans eyes it appears to them that he isnt very good, but in all truths he is terribly underrated. Watch out for Mark Hunt, enough said.

Mauricio Rua vs Jon Jones at UFC 128

This fight has caused Jon Jones' ego to soar through the roof. Pre-fight he was signing autographs as "Champ 2011" and it really made people double take. Jones went in and destroyed the former Pride stand out, and while that win was impressive it only gets harder from here for Jones. He finished Rua, and that was the first time anyone has done that. But from here on out, we will truly findout whether Jones is truly "substance or hype."

Brian Stann vs Chris Leben at UFC 125

Brian Stann drops to middleweight and many people were wondering how he would fare. Two impressive victories later he is now set up with a title eliminator bout with Chael Sonnen. Leben is as tough as they come and Stann made him look like a rookie, it will be interesting to see what he can accomplish from here on out.

Chris Leben vs Wanderlei Silva at 132

Alot of people thought Wanderlei was back and that middleweight was his division. Chris Leben killed all of those hopes and dreams when he finished Wanderlei in under 20 seconds. Leben had a setback in his previous bout, but this one reboosted his stock.

Sam Stout vs Yves Edwards at UFC 131

This was an overlooked fight on the card. Many people know Stout from his great fights he had with Spencer Fisher, but this fight made him stick out. He caught Edwards with a perfect shot and now Stout has boosted his stock in the already overly stacked lightweight division.

Rashad Evans vs Tito Ortiz at UFC 133

Dana White was not happy that Rashad Evans had taken so much time off. I was not a great idea in terms of a title shot, but he returned as a better version of his old self. He is literally Rashad 2.0. Tito took the fight on short notice, but Rashad was just too much. Rashad is now apart of Imperial Athletics and if his performance is a sign of what to expect form everyone at that gym, then the MMA world better watch out. That being said, Rashad is back and is hungry to get that belt back.

Stefan Struve vs Travis Browne at UFC 130

Both men have been very impressive in their careers thus far in the UFC. Both want to be put in the spotlight, and the only way to succeed was for these men too fight. Browne got the best of Struve landing one of the most impressive one punch knock outs in recent history, setting himself up for bigger fights in the future.

Lyoto Machida vs Randy Couture at UFC 129

Lyoto Machida sent Randy Couture out with a nice gift. Nothing like getting a chance to re-enact a scene for the "Karate Kid" right before you retire. Many thought Randy may have a few more fights left in him, and well  that crane kick took all of that thought away. This fight has put Machida in an unknown spot in the division, but is most likely 2 fights away from a title shot.

Carlos Condit vs Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 132

Carlos Condit has been one of the best overlooked fighters in recent history. He has won 9 of his 10 fights under the Zuffa banner (4-0 WEC, 4-1 UFC). He stated that if he were to finish Kim at 132 that he would request a title shot. He finished him for sure and will now face BJ Penn at UFC 137, and with a win there is a good chance that he will face the winner of GSP and Nick Diaz.

Anderson Silva vs Vitor Belfort at UFC 126

Tons of fans were behind Vitor for this fight, and well those tons of fans were left speechless. That kick was just a basic front kick, but landed perfectly. There isn't very much that can even be said about this fight, but here is a quick rundown. Bout is signed, Vitor calls Anderson fake says he hides behind a mask. Anderson wears mask to weigh ins. Fight starts, 1 flurry by Vitor, front kick and Anderson's hand is raised. They show respect and now Vitor wants another shot.

Pat Barry vs Cheick Kongo at UFC on Versus 4

Many people forgot about the power that Kongo possesses. As of late he is more known for his safe fighting style, and he is also coming off of back surgery. Barry has excellent stand, funny thing is, a year ago Barry did an interview with middleeasy.com and said that his time was coming to get knocked out. He had never been knocked out in practice or in a fight. In this fight, Barry rocked Kongo arguably knocking him out, but making Kongo regain consciousness and landing a flush shot on Barry and lights out and arguably one of the greatest comebacks in MMA history.

Chan Sung Jung vs Leonard Garcia at UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs Davis

It is safe to say that these two men were made for each other when it comes to matchmaking. In their first bout it was the debut of Chan Sung Jung in WEC and not only did the men win fight of the night honors, but they also won fight of the year honors. Many do not agree with the original decision which gave the nod to Garcia, but when it was announced that these two would meet again, the fans were pleased. This fight surpassed the first fight, not because it was a back and fourth war like the first fight, but instead it was the ending which saw Chan Sung Jung submit Leonard Garcia with a twister, which was the first time the move has ever been executed in the UFC. Odds are we will see the completion of this epic trilogy in the future, it only makes sense.