It was billed as an animalistic slugfest. That's what Chris Lytle wanted but Marcus Davis was too smart to simply stand and wing punches with the Indiana firefighter. Lytle followed Davis around the cage for 15 minutes throwing wild haymakers but "The Irish Hand-Grenade" effectively countered with short strikes. Neither fighter appeared to get severely stunned at any point during the fight. The judges gave Davis a split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) win over "Lights Out."

Davis used the superior foot movement, that he learned from years as a pro boxer, to avoid many of those big shots. He also did major damage with the left body kick. The kicks consistently landed on Lytle's right rib cage. By the end of the first round, Lytle's side was all marked up. He looked really worn down by the start of the third round.

This one played out exactly as Cage Writer predicted in our UFC 93 picks piece. Lytle would've had a better shot at the victory if he had mixed in some takedown attempts. Because of his submission experience, he has a slight edge on the ground over Davis. The threat of going to the mat would've at least taken Davis out of his comfort zone.

Lytle (26-17-5, 5-9 UFC) almost always puts on a great show but his approach doesn't necessarily lead to wins. Although the counter-argument could be that his approach has gotten him 14 paydays with the UFC and several Fight of the Night bonuses. Davis has now won 14-of-15 fights and is 8-2 the UFC. He should get another shot at another top 10 UFC welterweight in his next go-around, maybe someone like Karo Parisyan. Davis lost his first big step up against Mike Swick.

Photo via CombatLifestyle