UFC Fight Night 52 Preview
The UFC will continue to showcase one of the most exciting divisions in the sport as two more heavyweights face-off in the octagon. Las weekend Andrei Arlovski announced his return to the division in beating Antonio Silva. For the win Arlovski moved up the rankings to #7 as he is ready to come for the title. He will have plenty to go through to get there though including the two heavyweights that will headline UFC Fight Night 52. Roy Nelson, ranked #8, and Mark Hunt, ranked #6, have been working their way up the rankings for a while now. Both fighters have had fairly similar careers as they both joined the UFC around the same time and looked like they could be true challengers in the division. For Roy Nelson the entrance into the UFC was a long time coming as he was one of the most experienced fighters in the Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights. When he won the show it was expected that he could be one of the fastest rising fighters in the UFC. It seemed that way when his first fight outside of the show was against a promising young fighter that nobody could beat in Stefan Struve. He did earn the win and announced his arrival in the heavyweight division. He struggled after that win but went on a big winning streak that put him close to the title shot he had been looking to. The run came to an end when he lost to Stipe Miocic and then again to Daniel Cormier. Now he is on the rebound trying to get back to within a step of the title. Hunt has had much of the same type of career as he joined the UFC in 2010 and made a run through the division. After initial struggles where he had wins and losses but no prolonged winning streak. He began to put together a number of wins and approached the top of the rankings until a loss to Junior Dos Santos ended his run just short of a title fight. Now he is looking to get back on track in the division after his last fight ended in a draw with Antonio Silva. Both Nelson and Hunt are in the same position in the UFC as they are two very good fighters that could be title fighters if they can put together enough wins against the best in the division. Now they fight each other looking to do just that as they hope to get a win against a good fighter to move into the top of the division as other fighters continue to make moves in the division. The winner of this fight could be one more fight away from the title shot that they have been looking for and with both of these fighters it is almost a guarantee that the fight will be a thrill. Neither of these fighters likes to stay on the mat all that much and both have vicious knockout punches that can end anyone’s night. They will also see a change in this fight as they will not be fighting someone bigger than them as both stand around 6’0” with the usual height matchup not a worry this time around. It is sure to be a brawl between the two who both have great chins and powerful punches and are willing to swing away to end a fight. If this fight ends up going the distance it will be a big surprise as they will both be hoping to show that they still have the ability to end a fight with one punch. That is exactly how it will end as the fight won’t go long with Nelson taking the knockout win in the second round.
It is now a pattern in the UFC that two lightweights face off in one of the biggest fights in the card. This time it will be Myles Jury and Takanori Gomi representing for the lightweight division in the co-main event. The amount of lightweight fights in recent cards is for the simple fact that there are so many lightweights trying to get some recognition in the most talent-rich division in the UFC. The fight will be that much more important for Gomi who will fight at home when the UFC travels to Japan. Gomi is part of a wave of Japanese fighters that have yet to make much of an impact in the UFC. There has yet to be a Japanese champion in the UFC and despite a number of great Japanese fighters coming into the UFC in recent years none have been able to make much of an impression on the promotion. Gomi is one of these fighters as the former PRIDE lightweight champion has not been able to make much of an impression in the UFC. He has shown flashes of the brilliance that made him a champion but has not been able to sustain it. Now he trying to stabilize the ship as he goes back home for another fight and takes on one of the top ranked fighters in the division. Jury is on a tear as of late with five straight wins and sitting undefeated in the UFC. For the effort he has become the ninth ranked fighter in the lightweights division. If Gomi can take a win against Jury it would be a big upset and a chance to move into the rankings for the lightweight division. It is an important fight for the hometown favourite and another big fight for the lightweight division as the talent continues to fight for a chance to be noticed.
Fight Card
Main Event:
Mark “Super Samoan” Hunt vs. Roy “Big Country” Nelson (UFC Fight Pass)
Main Card:
Myles “The Fury” Jury vs. “The Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (UFC Fight Pass)
“Sexyama” Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Amir Sadollah (UFC Fight Pass)
Miesha “Cupcake” Tate vs. Rin Nakai (UFC Fight Pass)
Alex “Bruce Leeroy” Caceres vs. Masanori Kanehara (UFC Fight Pass)
Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Jon “The Heat” Delos Reyes (UFC Fight Pass)
Undercard:
Kiichi “Strasser” Kunimoto vs. “Filthy” Richard Walsh (UFC Fight Pass)
Sam Sicilia vs. Katsunori Kikuno (UFC Fight Pass)
Hyun Gyu “The Ace” Lim vs. Takenori Sato (UFC Fight Pass)
Michinori Tanaka vs. Kyung Ho “Mr. Perfect” Kang (UFC Fight Pass)
John Case vs. Kazuke Tokudome (UFC Fight Pass)
Maximo “Maxi” Blanco vs. Daniel “The Hangman” Hooker (UFC Fight Pass)
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