UFC Fight Night 52: Roy "Big Country" Nelson knocked out first time ever in career by Mark Hunt's uppercut
Jury downs Gomi, Tate dominates Nakai
Two really big men with powerful fists battling in the cage, that's like the perfect main event for Japan, a country that's popular for monster films and sumo wrestling. Mark Hunt (10-8-1) was, of course, in a slightly fitter shape than the "Big Country" Roy Nelson (20-10) and we all know that Nelson's cardio isn't great and could easily run out of gas from the second round, and that's exactly where he got knocked out.
It was quite level in round 1, both fighters landing some jabs and really strong kicks to the body and thighs of each other while dodging each other's right hand. Much to my surprise, Nelson actually tried to take the fight to the ground from the beginning. I guess he probably read my complaints about how he's wasting his black belt BJJ by never trying to grapple with his opponents. He got the takedown and Hunt's back at the beginning of the second round but Hunt managed to defend himself until Nelson slipped off. Both began landing some significant punches but none to the chin until Nelson got careless backing off with his arms stretched out which opened up path for Hunt to sneak one accurate uppercut to chin from under that knocked himut cold with his face flat onto the ground.
In the co-main event, Japan's MMA legend with 35 wins and 10 losses under his belt, Takanori Gomi, got TKO-ed in the very first round by the unbeaten Myles Jury (15-0) after getting dropped by a clean straight right hand down the middle, intelligently disguised with a fake left jab and hook. Gomi turtled up during Jury's followup strikes which forced the referee to stop the fight.
The previously unbeaten Japanese female MMA fighter Rin Nakai's (16-1) much anticipated UFC debut was ruined by the taller and stronger Miesha Tate (15-5) who was dominating on standup due to her much longer range, and her strength just made it too difficult for Nakai to take the fight to the ground. The judges scorecard was obviously going only one way but Nakai's never-give-up attitude with her ongoing takedown attempts throughout the bout was admirable.
Full Results
(Source: Wikipedia)
Fight of the Night: Kyung Ho Kang vs. Michinori Tanaka
Performance of the Night: Mark Hunt and Johnny Case
Main Card
Heavyweight: Mark Hunt def. Roy Nelson | KO (punch) | R2 3:00
Lightweight: Myles Jury def. Takanori Gomi | TKO (punches) | R1 1:32
Welterweight: Yoshihiro Akiyama def. Amir Sadollah | Decision (unanimous) | 3 rounds
Women's Bantamweight: Miesha Tate def. Rin Nakai | Decision (unanimous) | 3 rounds
Welterweight: Kiichi Kunimoto def. Richard Walsh | Decision (split) | 3 rounds
Flyweight: Kyoji Horiguchi def. Jon Delos Reyes | TKO (punches) | R1 3:48
Preliminary Card
Bantamweight: Masanori Kanehara def. Alex Caceres | Decision (unanimous) | 3 rounds
Featherweight: Katsunori Kikuno def. Sam Sicilia | Submission (rear-naked choke) | R2 1:38
Welterweight: Hyun Gyu Lim def. Takenori Sato | TKO (elbows) | R1 1:18
Bantamweight: Kyung Ho Kang def. Michinori Tanaka | Decision (split) | 3 rounds
Lightweight: Johnny Case def. Kazuki Tokudome | Technical Submission (guillotine choke) | R2 2:34
Featherweight: Maximo Blanco def. Dan Hooker | Decision (unanimous) | 3 rounds
UFC Fight Night 51: Perhaps it's time to retire "Bigfoot" Silva?
Antonio Silva (18-6) can be considered somewhat of a MMA legend as he had defeated some big names in his career but he also has a record for failing drug tests. After his epic majority draw against Mark Hunt previously, he was tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone. Before that, he was knocked out easily by the Heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez in the first round and it was almost similar this time when he got knocked out by former champion Andrew Arlovski (23-10), who exposed Bigfoot's obvious weaknesses.
Arlovski tested his quickness at the beginning, seemingly able to hop in and out of range easily without getting caught. He then allowed Silva to push forward and attack him before suddenly countering with a punch combo which caught Silva's chin twice. Silva went down and Arlovski followed up with some ruthless hammer fists that sealed the victory. Silva had power, no doubt, but now he's very slow and stiff when he fights, maybe he's not aging very well. It's hard to imagine how he could come up with any offence of his own against faster and smarter big guys. It really does seem doubtful that he'd do ever well again against any of the top 5 fighters in the division without drugs.
Full Results
(Source: Wikipedia)
Fight of the Night: Gleison Tibau vs. Piotr Hallmann
Performance of the Night: Andrei Arlovski and Godofredo Castro
Main Card
Heavyweight: Andrei Arlovski def. Antônio Silva | KO (punches) | R1 2:59
Lightweight: Gleison Tibau def. Piotr Hallmann | Decision (split) | 3 rounds
Lightweight: Leonardo Santos def. Efrain Escudero | Decision (unanimous) | 3 rounds
Welterweight: Santiago Ponzinibbio def. Wendell Oliveira | TKO (punches) | R1 1:20
Bantamweight: Iuri Alcântara def. Russell Doane | Decision (unanimous) | 3 rounds
Women's Bantamweight: Jéssica Andrade def. Larissa Pacheco | Submission (guillotine choke) | R1 4:33
Preliminary Card
Featherweight: Godofredo Castro def. Dashon Johnson | Submission (mounted triangle armbar) | R1 4:29
Welterweight: George Sullivan def. Igor Araújo | KO (punches) | R2 2:31
Lightweight: Francisco Trinaldo def. Leandro Silva | Decision (unanimous) | 3 rounds
Welterweight: Sean Spencer def. Paulo Thiago | Decision (unanimous) | 3 rounds
Bantamweight: Rani Yahya def. Johnny Bedford | Submission (kimura) | R2 2:04
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