UFC 144 Fight Card: What a Loss Would Mean to Hatsu Hioki

A loss at UFC 144 tonight for Hatsu Hioki would be beyond devastating.

This is the moment that Hioki has been building toward his entire career. With the UFC jitters getting out of the way at UFC 137, this is his chance to fight in front of his home crowd of Japan on the biggest stage in MMA.

There's no doubt that a victory over Bart Palaszewski tonight would be the biggest moment of his career, but a loss to him would be the worst moment of his career.

Put yourself in Hioki's shoes for just a moment.

You're at the pinnacle of your career in front of your home fans, and you're facing one of your toughest challenges in your career. You will be criticized if you fail and don't live up to the hype, and you will be praised if you rise to the occasion and pull off the victory.

After a grueling battle, it just so happens that tonight wasn't your night and you end up losing. The loss not only hurts yourself, but it scars your country after they've been putting all of their faith in you.

I mean, think about it.

This is not an easy fight either. In fact, if I were a betting man, I would bet on Palaszewski here. Palaszewski is a gamer that is good in every aspect of the game.

So a loss to Palaszewski is by no means a stretch, even if Hioki is one of the best featherweights on the planet.

A lot of pressure has been put on Hioki to succeed in the UFC, because the Japanese need another champion to revive MMA in Japan. And while reports are that this visit has been a success (take if from Daniel Herbertson who's an MMA journalist in Japan), Hioki still needs to win this fight.

If Hioki loses, it's almost as if the air will have been let out of the balloon. That's why it's a must for Hioki to defeat his opponent tonight and give the Japanese people something to cheer about.