Hunt vs. Nelson: A Complete Guide to UFC Fight Night 52
The Land of the Rising Sun? When your fight card is wrapping up right around the time East Coast birds are preparing their opening chirps, the moniker feels appropriate.
UFC Fight Night 52—kicking off at 12:30 a.m. ET this Saturday in the U.S.—goes down from the revered Saitama Super Arena near Tokyo, Japan. Japan is known for its unwavering enthusiasm for combat sports, particularly when large men are involved. Large, large men? Even better.
Enter Mark Hunt and Roy Nelson, two UFC heavyweights as powerful as they are girthsome. In fact, they're probably the two most powerful (and girthsome) fighters in the promotion today. Fans have howled for Hunt vs. Nelson since the two first co-habitated the heavyweight roster, and they'll finally get it.
But don't hang up the phone just yet. This card is quite deep, especially for one airing entirely on Fight Pass, the UFC's streaming subscription service. Exciting, violent and promising combatants cover the lineup from beginning to end.
Here's a complete guide to the 12-fight slate, including information capsules, quick predictions and everything else you need to know. Put on a pot of coffee and tuck in.
Maximo Blanco vs. Dan Hooker
1 of 12
Division: Featherweight
Records: Maximo Blanco (10-6-1), Dan Hooker (11-4)
See it on: UFC Fight Pass (subscription required)
Wild cards don't come much wilder than Blanco. His presence on the first fight of the card signals that the UFC isn't looking to ease into this one.
He'll charge forward in search of some crazy knockout, which he may or may not achieve. That Bart Simpson style will have a fun foil in well-rounded young buck Hooker, who won his UFC debut by first-round TKO in June. But the more experienced fighter should take it.
Prediction: Blanco, TKO, Rd. 2
Kazuki Tokudome vs. Johnny Case
2 of 12
Division: Lightweight
Records: Kazuki Tokudome (12-5-1), Johnny Case (18-4)
See it on: UFC Fight Pass (subscription required)
Tokudome has come up on the short end of some slugfests during his UFC career. Last July, Norman Parke outworked him for a decision. In March, he was nearly stopped early before he righted the ship but ultimately fell short in a close and exciting matchup with Yui Chul Nam.
Case could give Tokudome similar fits. He has 11 knockout wins in his career and carries an eight-fight win streak into his first UFC bout. A torn retina derailed his original debut date, but the Alliance MMA product appears to be fully healthy now.
My gut really wants to go with Case, but I'll take the conservative rout and pick Tokudome to top-control his way to a 2-2 UFC record in front of his home crowd.
Prediction: Tokudome, unanimous decision
Michinori Tanaka vs. Kyung Ho Kang
3 of 12
Division: Bantamweight
Records: Michinori Tanaka (10-0), Kyung Ho Kang (12-7)
See it on: UFC Fight Pass (subscription required)
If you follow the MMA prospect scene, you'll know the name of Tanaka, or as you might know him, the No. 15 prospect for 2014 here at Bleacher Report.
What sets him apart is an incredibly sticky judo game. Once he's on top of you, it's really hard to get him off. But he's no grinder; half of his professional wins came by submission.
He's also not quite the specialist he used to be. He has great energy in the cage and uses very active footwork on the perimeter. He's no Junior Dos Santos, but he's not a striking neophyte, as evidenced when he drew blood in his UFC debut, a decision win over Roland Delorme.
Kang thus far hasn't distinguished himself from the recent wave of fighters who excelled in Asia but not in the Octagon. He has his own dangerous submission game but shouldn't be on Tanaka's level. Tanaka should move to 2-0 in the UFC at the tender age of 23.
Prediction: Tanaka, submission, Rd. 2
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Hyun Gyu Lim vs. Takenori Sato
4 of 12
Division: Welterweight
Records: Hyun Gyu Lim (12-4-1), Takenori Sato (17-9-7)
See it on: UFC Fight Pass (subscription required)
Pass the oil can. These two former champions in Asia are talented enough but may be poised to create something clunky.
Lim, the ex-PXC titleholder, has a better recent track record than Sato, a former welterweight King of Pancrase (that explains all the draws). The Korean knockout king is two for his last three, netting two Fight of the Night bonuses in the process. And who could forget his stirring display of heart in that loss to Tarec Saffiedine in January?
Sato, mainly a judo-based grappler, dropped his first UFC fight, falling in only 52 seconds to Erick Silva. But as is often the case, it's less cut and dried than it might appear. Sato made that UFC debut on short notice and lost because of a rib injury sustained at the end of a Silva kick.
This one won't be over so quickly, but I do believe it will end in Lim's favor. His power is a lot to deal with. He's not the most polished boxer, but Sato's even worse. This will be a feast-or-famine kind of bout, either a bonus-winning home run or a half-hearted strikeout. I'll go with the finish out of sheer hope.
Prediction: Lim, TKO, Rd. 2
Katsunori Kikuno vs. Sam Sicilia
5 of 12
Division: Featherweight
Records: Katsunori Kikuno (21-6-2), Sam Sicilia (13-4)
See it on: UFC Fight Pass (subscription required)
This could be the dark horse for Fight of the Night. If given their druthers, both men will prefer to win by knockout, even if their games are more complete than those druthers might suggest.
Everyone enjoys the Kikuno thing, with the kicks and the so forth. Sicilia loves to bang, as evidenced by the photo I've included.
However, Sicilia got on his grind to defeat a very game Aaron Phillips in a very nice fight back in May. Kikuno is himself a judo black belt, but he seems better from the top than from his back.
Bottom line: No disrespect intended to Quinn Mulhern, but Kikuno will have to prove he's really UFC-caliber. I'm not just going to sit here and assume it.
Prediction: Sicilia, TKO, Rd. 2
Alex Caceres vs. Masanori Kanehara
6 of 12
Division: Bantamweight
Records: Alex Caceres (10-6), Masanori Kanehara (23-11-5)
See it on: UFC Fight Pass (subscription required)
People seemed to give Caceres a bit of a mulligan for his fairly one-sided loss to Urijah Faber. His impressive win (and much-improved grappling) against Sergio Pettis certainly earned him that much.
It also earned him this fight. When Faber went down with injury, the UFC didn't hesitate to call on Bruce Leroy, an exciting fighter who looks for the finish and is still getting better, to step in vs. Kanehara.
It's probably too tall of an order for Kanehara, even with the friendly crowd. These two actually have fairly similar styles, both being rangy kickboxers with secondary, though not ineffective, ground games. I imagine Caceres will be a little better in all phases.
Prediction: Caceres, unanimous decision
Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Jon Delos Reyes
7 of 12
Division: Flyweight
Records: Kyoji Horiguchi (13-1), Jon Delos Reyes (7-3)
See it on: UFC Fight Pass (subscription required)
The main card kicks off with the most exciting prospect in the flyweight division. The 23-year-old Horiguchi has sparkled in two UFC contests, knocking out Dustin Pague and then polishing off Darrell Montague. His original opponent, one Chris Cariaso, seemed a lot more sensible.
Delos Reyes, who lost his UFC debut by first-round submission, does not seem up to this challenge. Can anything happen? Anything can happen. But let us also not pretend this is something other than what it is.
Prediction: Horiguchi, TKO, Rd. 1
Kiichi Kunimoto vs. Richard Walsh
8 of 12
Division: Welterweight
Records: Kiichi Kunimoto (17-5-2), Richard Walsh (8-1)
See it on: UFC Fight Pass (subscription required)
Kunimoto shocked the oddsmakers when he choked out Daniel Sarafian at UFC 174. Time—and, more immediately, this fight—will reveal whether that had more to do with Kunimoto or Sarafian.
Either way, Kunimoto is here to fill out a fight card. That's the long and short of it. Then again, so is Walsh, who makes the relatively short trip up from Australia.
Kunimoto is OK at everything but outstanding at nothing, even the submissions game that has earned him most of his wins. Walsh, a former The Ultimate Fighter: Nations cast member, likes to strike, but probably won't have the power or athleticism to overwhelm Kunimoto.
Prediction: Kunimoto, unanimous decision
Miesha Tate vs. Rin Nakai
9 of 12
Division: Women's bantamweight
Records: Miesha Tate (14-5), Rin Nakai (16-0-1)
See it on: UFC Fight Pass (subscription required)
Ah ha, ahhh yes. Nakai is indeed 16-0 as a pro but met very little resistance along the way (Tara LaRosa, who Nakai defeated last year, is a notable exception). She's just as well-known for her thickly muscled physique, which has made waves for its owner in modeling and Internet circles as much as it has in MMA.
Methinks she has met her match in Tate, who is well-versed in every phase and should be able to chop down Nakai from long distance.
Prediction: Tate, unanimous decision
Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Amir Sadollah
10 of 12
Division: Welterweight
Records: Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-5), Amir Sadollah (6-4)
See it on: UFC Fight Pass (subscription required)
I just hope these two don't start some chain reaction of oxidation that eats through the fence and runs amok through the crowd.
Akiyama last fought in February 2012, and he's now 39 years old. His last fight was a grind-out loss to Jake Shields, and it was Sexyama's fourth straight defeat.
On the other hand, if the UFC didn't release the Korean-Japanese superstar after he lost his fourth straight, why would they do so after he lost his fifth?
The 31-year-old Sadollah is returning after a two-year absence of his own. The highly likable former TUF winner has lost two of his last three, but more importantly, his career has been crippled by injuries.
It's hard to analyze a fight containing two fighters who haven't fought since the last Summer Olympics. Akiyama's strong, efficient judo game seems to be the style that would hold up best to rust and atrophy. But who really knows?
Prediction: Akiyama, unanimous decision
Myles Jury vs. Takanori Gomi
11 of 12
Division: Lightweight
Records: Myles Jury (14-0), Takanori Gomi (35-9)
See it on: UFC Fight Pass (subscription required)
Get your various snacks prepared for this one. A torch-passing narrative is probably a little too sloppy, but there is a clear dynamic here between the past and the future of the lightweight division.
The hard-hitting Gomi is probably a Hall of Fame fighter. The former Pride champion has been uneven in the UFC, though he is currently on the upswing following his defeat of Isaac Vallie-Flagg at UFC 172 in April.
Jury, though, is decidedly not uneven. The 25-year-old still sports an unblemished record five fights into his UFC tenure. And he's doing it in an exciting fashion, maintaining a fast pace while looking to finish with a submission, his hands or anything else lying around.
Youth should be served in this contest. There will be some crowd-stoking exchanges on the feet, but Jury knows there's a mismatch on the mat. He will get this one groundward sooner or later and should dictate the action from there.
Prediction: Jury, submission, Rd. 3
Roy Nelson vs. Mark Hunt
12 of 12
Division: Heavyweight
Records: Roy Nelson (20-9), Mark Hunt (9-8-1)
See it on: UFC Fight Pass (subscription required)
It seems every fight is "the one where Roy Nelson remembers he can grapple." But it never seems to materialize. If all Nelson brings to the table is that loaded-up right hand and that lazy clinch game, he's not going to get very far.
That said, at least Nelson has the resume lines to suggest he could grapple if he wanted, although of course that is quite different from actually doing it. One has to think he is rusty in that phase, at best. Hunt, meanwhile, is definitely deficient there, almost unabashedly so. The K-1 striker will be more than happy to circle with Nelson and land haymakers for 25 minutes.
Speaking of 25 minutes, nobody wants this to go 25 minutes. And I mean nobody. The earlier the curtain closes, the better we're all going to feel. Someone's chin will cave.
Nelson could probably win this fight with a grappling-heavy game plan but simply isn't going to. This will be a stand-up fight between two battle-tempered old warships of combat sports. The more skilled striker of the two will be the one doing the outstriking, especially as the fight wears on.
Prediction: Hunt, TKO, Rd. 4
Scott Harris covers MMA for Bleacher Report. Follow Scott on Twitter if you feel so inclined.
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