On Saturday, Sept. 20, the UFC hostedĀ UFC Fight Night 52: Hunt vs. NelsonĀ from theĀ Saitama Super Arena inĀ Saitama, Japan.
In the night’s main event, a pair of heavyweight knockout artists locked horns as New Zealand-native Mark Hunt faced off with Roy Nelson. Hunt fought for the first time since his five-round war with Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva at UFC Fight Night 33 last December. The 40-year-old had experienced a career resurgence over the last three years, having tasted defeat just once in his last six Octagon appearances. Nelson, meanwhile, looked to build on the momentum of a violent, first-round knockout of former UFC and Pride title holder Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in April. The win snapped a two-fight skid for the 38-year-old.
The co-main event of the evening featured another former Pride champion, Takanori Gomi. Gomi was squaring off with unbeaten TUF alum, Myles Jury. Gomi had won three of his last four after a sluggish start to his UFC tenure. Jury earned his fifth straight win inside the Octagon in March with a lopsided decision win over Diego Sanchez.
The 12-fight card kicked off Saturday at 12:30 a.m. ET with six preliminary card bout streaming live on UFC Fight Pass. The six-fight main card followed at 3 a.m. ET, also on UFC Fight Pass.
Myles Jury def. Takanori Gomi by TKO (punches). Round 1, 1:32
Yoshihiro Akiyama def. Amir Sadollah by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Miesha Tate def. Rin Nakai by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Kiichi Kunimoto def. Richard Walsh by split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
Kyoji Horiguchi def. Jon Delos Reyes by TKO (punches). Round 1, 3:48
Masanori Kanehara def. Alex Caceres by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Katsunori Kikuno def. Sam Sicilia by submission (rear-naked choke). Round 2, 1:38
Hyun Gyu Lim def. Takenori Sato by TKO (elbows). Round 1, 1:18
Kyung Ho Kang def. Michinori Tanaka by split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
Johnny Case def. Kazuki Tokudome by technical submissionĀ (guillotine choke). Round 2, 2:34
Maximo Blanco def. Daniel Hooker by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)