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D. FOX: Rapid-fire reactions to UFC Fight Night 75 "Barnett vs. Nelson"
Sep 27, 2015 - 1:10:33 AM D. FOX: Rapid-fire reactions to UFC Fight Night 75 "Barnett vs. Nelson"

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By: Dayne Fox, MMATorch Contributor

I'll declare it a satisfying night of fights. There weren't any barn burners, and the heavyweight fight went five rounds, but Uriah Hall pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the year in exciting fashion and the heavyweight fight was more entertaining over the five rounds than I expected… though that might not be saying too much. Maybe it's because I always have low expectations for five round heavyweight fights… but neither here nor there. It was a sound if not spectacular return for the UFC after a three week absence, something that we don't see too often in this day and age. I'll quit my rambling and get to the point.

Josh Barnett defeated Roy Nelson via unanimous decision

Aside from Nelson taking the fight to the ground a couple of times early in the fight, it went very much how I expected: lots of clinch work with Barnett working over Nelson's body while pushing him against the cage. That happened at some point of every round, with the story rarely changing from round to round; though Barnett did seem to have Nelson on the ropes in the midst of the fourth round only for Nelson to do just enough to stop the onslaught and prevent the referee from jumping in. Nelson had his moments too with the early takedowns and occasionally getting control up against the cage to possibly take a round (maybe two as two of the judges saw fit to award him), but it was pretty clear that Barnett was the victor. I couldn't help but enjoy the fight as you could hear the impact of the shots from each man and see them still standing there after five rounds. Sure, they both slowed down, but they were still landing hard shots in the end.

Barnett seems largely content to serve as a gatekeeper of sorts rather than making a run at the title and that role suits him perfectly at this point. He didn't get to show much of his impressive catch wrestling against Nelson, but his well-rounded approach will make him difficult to get by for anyone, including those ranked above him. Due to the uncertainty of the heavyweight title picture, he could be lined up against Andrei Arlovski, Stipe Miocic, Ben Rothwell, Alistair Overeem, Junior dos Santos, Mark Hunt, or Bigfoot Silva, depending on how everything plays out. Nelson has now lost five of his last six, but has also faced some top competition in the process and is still a very recognizable name. He should end up getting a step down in competition to rehabilitate his name. The loser of Shawn Jordan and Ruslan Magomedov next week seems to be the most likely possibility.


Uriah Hall defeated Gegard Mousasi via TKO at 0:25 of the second round

Easily one of the biggest upsets of the year by far, Hall made me eat my words as I proclaimed he would get demolished by Mousasi. My prediction was holding true through the first round as Mousasi got Hall in a number of precarious positions on the ground that Hall was barely able to survive a few of the situations. Hall knew that the takedown would be coming once the second round opened and timed a spinning-back kick perfectly onto the jaw of Mousasi, sending him sprawling and followed with a well-placed knee that put Mousasi on his butt. Mousasi couldn't recover enough to avoid Hall's nonstop punches and the referee stepped in to end the fight.

Before I proclaim this fight Hall's coming out party, I'm inclined to believe this has some flukiness to it until I see Hall fight again. This is the same guy that lost to Rafael Natal less than five months ago. Hall's name recognition could get him someone like Tim Kennedy, Michael Bisping, or (dare I say it?) Lyoto Machida. If that happens and he puts on a good showing, I'll be a believer. Mousasi killed his chance to become the sleeper contender of the division, as a victory here could have catapulted him into fighting the likes of Yoel Romero (should Romero lose to Jacare Souza). Now he'll have to settle for the likes of CB Dolloway or Roan Carneiro (who was supposed to be his original opponent).


Kyoji Horiguchi defeated Chico Camus via unanimous decision

I kind of wish that this fight had taken place before Horiguchi received his title shot, as it was a clear win, but not without its struggles, and a true title challenger would have been able to dispose of Camus in easier fashion. Then again, it likely wouldn't have mattered, as the UFC continues to look for fresh challengers for Demetrious Johnson. The big difference here was Horiguchi was flat out a much better athlete than Camus, beating Camus to the punch more often than not. Camus simply couldn't keep up with Horiguchi's slick movement. Horiguchi is my favorite out of DJ's past victims to get another shot and this was a good start for him to get back to that point. I'd love to see him go against Dustin Ortiz next. Camus isn't going anywhere despite losing two in a row as he is an ideal gatekeeper, but will get a softball next after facing Horiguchi and Henry Cejudo in consecutive bouts.


Takeya Mizugaki defeated George Roop via unanimous decision

Didn't end up being the fun action fight that I was anticipating, but a solid win nonetheless for Mizugaki as he had been on a two fight skid. As badly as he had lost to Dominick Cruz and Aljimain Sterling, many (including myself) were wondering if he was in decline. He could be, but it isn't as steep as speculated. Mizugaki was able to do damage in the clinch and out land Roop from a distance with his boxing to take a clear, if uninspired, decision, maintaining his spot in the top ten. Roop has lost two in a row and three of his last four, with his only win coming over the since released Dustin Kimura. He couldn't find a way to make this fight exciting, one of his calling cards, so I think his long but understated UFC run is at its end.


Diego Brandao defeated Katsunori Kikuno via TKO at 0:28 of the first round

While the performance was impressive, it didn't offer anything that we didn't already know about Brandao: he is a beast to open up the fight, but if you can survive his initial onslaught then you are sitting pretty. While the win might warrant a step up in competition, Brandao is crazy if he thinks he is ready for the top ten as he stated in the post-fight interview. Take a clear against someone like… we'll say Hacran Dias, then we'll talk. I'm not denying Brandao's talent; this was a clear display of what he is capable of, but what separates a great fighter from a talented fighter is what happens when Plan A isn't working and we haven't seen that from Brandao. Kikuno could be on his way out with two straight losses while dropping three of his last four. I'm fine if he stays or goes; there are guys he is better than still on the roster, but there are plenty of others outside the UFC that are clearly better. My guess is he stays, as Brandao presented the Dr. Jekyll side of his abilities, a tough fight for anyone.


Mizuto Hirota and Teruto Ishihara fought to a draw

I'm not going to say that a draw isn't appropriate since the fight was close, making it hard to give to either fighter outright, but it always leaves such a feeling of dissatisfaction. Dana White said it best when he tweeted there should have been a sudden death fourth round. Can we make that a permanent rule for all three round fights? I scored the fight for Hirota, but would have offered zero resistance if Ishihara took it. Hirota was slow out of the gate as I was expecting the veteran to grind out his smaller and less experienced opponent. He didn't make any serious attempt to do so until the second round and only found moderate success until the third. Ishihara's unorthodox striking seemed to confuse him more than anticipated to start before Hirota found his range in the second, which also had something to do with Ishihara gassing. Entertaining if unspectacular fight that leaves the future of both up in the air. If I were to guess, they'll each get one more opportunity with Ishihara's coming at bantamweight.


Keita Nakamura defeated Jingliang Li via submission at 2:17 of the third round

That was one hell of an impressive comeback! Nakamura was getting pieced up after the first round as it seemed he just ran out of gas due to taking the fight on short notice. Li was scoring punch after punch as Nakamura largely stood there eating shots to the head and body. Nakamura started shooting for takedowns in the last round in desperation, and was able to turn one of those failed attempts into a scramble onto the back of Li, sinking in a rear naked choke. Li refused to tap, instead falling on his face as he passed out. I expect Nakamura to look better in his next appearance with a full camp while becoming a mid-to-low tier gatekeeper. Despite the loss, Li looked improved, and I fully expect him to bounce back with a win as he will likely get a step down in competition with the loss.


Nick Hein defeated Yusuke Kasuya via unanimous decision

Why pound your chest and hi-five when there is about 15 seconds left? Go for the kill damn it!!! Though I agree Hein earned the decision, his performance frustrated me. The first two rounds he did nothing other than circle and box, completely ignoring his extensive judo skills or any other forms of striking. He did open up and show some awesome kicks to Kasuya's legs in the third to temper my irritation, but still think he could do more if he opened all facets of his skill-set. While Kasuya needs work on his footwork and cage control, he showed better than expected striking skills. He seemed to lose his edge after an early groin strike as he no longer seemed to look for the takedown, which makes one wonder how things could have been different. He looks as though he could develop into a mainstay.


Kajan Johnson defeated Naoyuki Kotani via unanimous decision

I don't consider Johnson to be a great striker, but Kotani made him look like a world-beater… well, at least until the final round. It was too little, too late by then, as Johnson is skilled enough off of his back to nullify Kotani's top offense. While I'll give Johnson some credit for better utilizing his length and improved technique, I think Kotani's deficiencies played a part in how well Johnson looked. Seeing as how Johnson has likely passed his physical prime, I don't see the improvements doing much more than extending his UFC stay as opposed to raising him past lower-level gatekeeper. Kotani is now 0-5 in the UFC. Translation: He is long gone.


Shinsho Anzai defeated Roger Zapata via TKO of the third round

So I missed the conclusion of this fight thanks to technical difficulties with my satellite dish. Luckily for me this would be the fight over the past six months I'm most OK with missing when it comes to UFC bouts. Zapata landed some good kicks, but didn't seem to be able to avoid getting taken down time after time by Anzai, even when resorting to using the fence. I anticipate him getting cut even with the ending being anticlimactic as he had to stop thanks to some sort of a hand injury. Maybe this is karma for his controversial win in the TUF tournament… just saying. Anzai keeps his job for at least one more appearance.