UFC 92 Undercard Action Hardonk vs Wessel

Wessel Looks to Pull Upset Over Hardonk in UFC Debut

After originally being scheduled to fight Mark Burch, Antoni Hardonk will now take on Mike Wessel at UFC 92 in what will be Wessel’s UFC debut.Burch dropped out due to an undisclosed injury and now Betus.com has installed Hardonk as a +400 to -250 favorite over Wessel.

Wessel is a stocky heavyweight from Little Rock, Arkansas who has trained alongside Roli Delgado from season eight of The Ultimate Fighter. He told mmaweekly.com that he was surprised when the UFC called him in to replace Burch but claims to be ready for the opportunity. That could all go out the window when his name is announced, the fight music plays, and he strolls into the arena in front of thousands of screaming fans who care only about seeing a knockout on the under-card of perhaps the year’s biggest UFC event.

Hardonk is the more proven fighter with a recent win over accomplished heavyweight Eddie Sanchez and five UFC fights under his belt, and he’s a kickboxer by trade who boasts some of the most potent leg kicks in the heavyweight division if not the entire UFC. The former K-1 competitor seems to match up well with Wessel given his precision striking ability.

Wessel on the other hand is a powerful fighter who used to play professional football and served as the strength and conditioning coach for the Arkansas Razorbacks college football team.

While Wessel has the ability to deliver knockout blows, the Dutchman Hardonk has more technical striking and he’s much more accustomed to the big stage, which should allow him to control the pace of the fight and eventually pull out a victory either by a solid decision or perhaps a knockout.

Hardonk appears to have the edge in experience, striking ability, all-around skills, and preparation as he has known about his fight at UFC 92 for much longer than Wessel.

Wessel is still a fairly unknown fighter in UFC circles but Hardonk seems like a pretty safe bet here. While Hardonk he is still in the process of evolving into a complete martial artist at this point in time, he should walk out of UFC 92 as a victor against Wessel by using his superior all-around skills to chip away at Wessel before either finishing him off or playing it safe and winning by decision.