UFC will kickoff its latest mixed martial arts (MMA) show in Saitama, Japan, early tomorrow morning (Sat., Sept. 20, 2014) when it presents UFC Fight Night 52 live from Saitama Super Arena. Before the action begins, take a look at the special fighters and fights who have the potential to haul in one or more of UFC's performance-based bonuses.
As Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) continues its plan for global mixed martial arts (MMA) expansion, it will deliver an entertaining Fight Pass-only event tomorrow morning (Sat., Sept. 20, 2014) from Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, with UFC Fight Night 52.
With its big push for the Asian MMA market, it's no surprise that the promotion is returning yet again ... and with a card that features many intriguing match ups.
The main event pits former Pride FC and K-1 star, Mark Hunt, against The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 10 winner, Roy "Big Country" Nelson, in a clash where one of these men may emerge as a Heavyweight contender in the near future. The co-main event pits rising star Miles Jury against popular local veteran Takanori Gomi, in a Lightweight fight that could definitely be fun to watch.
Without further ado, let's get into some of the fighters most likely to leave this event with a nice performance bonus:
Mark Hunt (Fighting Roy Nelson): Hunt is legitimately a very good kickboxer, whereas Nelson kind of just flings overhand rights and hopes for the best. Nelson's power is immense, I'll give him that, but he stands little to no chance against Hunt, in my opinion. Though Hunt could be criticized for getting into unnecessary firefights, his technical ability is still very good and far beyond what Nelson brings to the table. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say Hunt may even get a finish as Nelson tires ... that's how confident I am that "Big Country" will be helpless in this fight.
Miles Jury (Fighting Takanori Gomi): Gomi is just past it ... as much as I hate to say it. "Fireball Kid" looks more and more like "Fireball Old Man" -- he just can't keep up with the new blood the 155-pound division has to offer. Jury is a fighter on the up and has the well-rounded skill set and athletic ability to give Gomi fits wherever this fight goes. And probably finish him by submission as he gets tired.
Miesha Tate (Fighting Rin Nakai): Nakai's unbeaten record has little to do with her being legitimately good and more to do with a track record of fighting pretty bad fighters. Sure, there are a few decent wins peppered in here and there, but Tate is on a level above anyone Nakai has faced. Tate is bigger, technically better and has more experience at the top of what is a pretty shallow division. Tate by submission.
Kyoji Horiguchi (Fighting Jon Delos Reyes): Horiguchi is on the rise right now and Reyes is not on his level. Horiguchi has real knockout power and is more than capable of competing wherever the fight takes place. Reyes is not a bad fighter by any means, but in Japan, Horiguchi wins this every time.
Alex Caceres (Fighting Masanori Kanehara): Caceres is a legitimate prospect now that we've seen the improvements he is making to his game, while Kanehara is easily described as nothing special. After impressing against Urijah Faber -- albeit in a losing effort -- expect Caceres to ride his positive momentum into a big win over Kanehara.
Sam Sicilia (Fighting Katsunori Kikuno): Sicilia has very heavy hands and Kikuno has poor defense and a very questionable chin. Kikuno's performance against Tony Ferguson was one of the more puzzlingly-awful ones in recent memory, and I expect him to repeat that in this fight.
Hyun Gyu Lim (Fighting Takenori Sato): The biggest moment in Sato's career was being embarrassed by Erick Silva in less than one minute. His defense isn't great and he isn't particularly big for the division. Lim is massive and extremely powerful. And I fully expect him to destroy Sato in this fight.
And that wraps it up.
This event really doesn't look too shabby, even if it is clearly catering to the Japanese audience as UFC was able to put a pretty good number of interesting fights onto this card. Even though for stateside fans this may be a little difficult to wake up for, it could be worth a watch if you choose to catch it live.
No comments:
Post a Comment