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UFC FIGHT NIGHT 52 LIVE RESULTS: Penick's round by round report for "Hunt vs. Nelson" event from Japan
Sep 20, 2014 - 4:35:34 AM UFC FIGHT NIGHT 52 LIVE RESULTS: Penick's round by round report for "Hunt vs. Nelson" event from Japan

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

UFC FIGHT NIGHT 52
SEPTEMBER 20, 2014
LIVE FROM SAITAMA, JAPAN

=====UFC Fight Pass Prelims=====

-Maximo Blanco def. Daniel Hooker via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Note: Absolute war of attrition. Both fighters did tons of damage to the other, and both were dealing with some levels of fatigue throughout as well. Hooker's got a ridiculous chin, and it allowed him to come back in the third, but he just didn't do enough through the first ten minutes to earn the nod here.

-Johnny Case def. Kazuki Tokudome via technical submission (announced TKO, actually technical submission via guillotine choke) at 2:34 of the second round

Note: Nasty, nasty submission win from Case, who choked Tokudome out cold after knocking him down with a combination against the cage. Excellent debut for Case.

-Kyung Ho Kang def. Michinori Tanaka via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Note: Insanely close fight with tons of scrambles and a lot of ridiculous ground action. So hard to adequately score that it's hard to be upset about that decision in any capacity. Both had a lot of offensive moments on the ground.

-Hyun Gyu Lim def. Takenori Sato via TKO at 1:18 of the first round

Note: Went pretty much exactly as expected. Lim was the better, more powerful fighter, and he delivered a brutal series of elbows as Sato shot in for a takedown. That was all there was to it.

-Katsunori Kikuno def. Sam Sicilia via submission (rear naked choke) at 1:38 of the second round

Note: Really competitive first round, then Kikuno took things over in the second and got what was a rare submission win for him, just the third of his career.

-Masenori Kanehara def. Alex Caceres via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Note: Clear two rounds to one there. Caceres had very little offense through ten minutes, and nearly got beat in the second round. That he survived is little consolation as the final five minutes meant just about nothing.


=====UFC Fight Pass Main Card=====

-We get some opening comments from Mike Goldberg and Brian Stann as they discuss what's on the card here overnight. Short intro before the first fight of the main card is set up.

FIGHT ONE: KYOJI HORIGUCHI VS. JON DELOS REYES (FLYWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Both fighters bounced around one another for a bit. Horiguchi hurt Reyes with a nasty body kick just 30 seconds in. Reyes tried to tie him up on the ground, but Horiguchi took top position. Horiguchi tried to stay patient and progress on top. They were right in Reyes’ corner, so he had instruction right there from his corner and managed to get to his feet. He took a few hard shots on the way up. Horiguchi landed a nice combo, then got in another body kick. Reyes landed a left. Reyes caught a kick, then tried to rush in with a flying knee that was partially blocked. Horiguchi turned him around in the clinch and landed a knee to the body. Horiguchi got in some more knees from the clinch. They traded knees to the body. Horiguchi got in a right hand as he separated. Reyes landed a body kick. Horiguchi dropped him with a right. Reyes popped up but Horiguchi followed up with strikes. Reyes tried to stay in it, but Horiguchi stayed relentless with the assault. Finally, Reyes turtled up and tried to cover up, but the strikes kept coming, and the ref stepped in. That’s a solid stoppage, Reyes was in real bad shape.

WINNER: Horiguchi via TKO at 3:48 of the first round

STAR RATING: (**+) Massively one-sided, but still impressive work from Horiguchi, who picks up his second straight win since dropping to flyweight.


FIGHT TWO: KIICHI KUNIMOTO VS. RICHARD WALSH (WELTERWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Walsh’s first strike landed between the legs, and Kunimoto took a brief break. Walsh came right ahead on the restart and cracked Kunimoto. Kunimoto survived on the ground, and Walsh let him back up. Walsh landed another combo and then they clinched briefly. Walsh got in a body kick after the separation. Walsh landed a knee to the head on a thrown kick. Kunimoto shot in and tried to recover. Walsh clinched and landed some strikes. Kunimoto’s nose was busted and he was bleeding heavily. Walsh was warned several times about putting his fingers in the cage. Kunimoto survived and separated. Walsh threw another knee as he engaged and it landed low, leading to another break in the action. He restarted quickly. Walsh came back ahead, but Kunimoto was recovered from the earlier knockdowns. Walsh landed a good body kick. Walsh tried to walk Kunimoto down. He landed a jab. He connected on a combo. Kunimoto clinched and tried to slow things down. He landed a knee to the body, but couldn’t complete the takedown. Walsh got in a knee to the body and turned him around. They jockeyed for position on the cage. Things stalled out prior to the end of the round.

Penick’s Scorecard: 10-8 Walsh. Two knockdowns and a near finish make that a big round for the Aussie.

ROUND TWO: Walsh staggered Kunimoto with a left to start the round. He kept the pressure on and landed a combination on the cage before Kunimoto tied him up. They each tried to get a positional advantage on the cage, then Kunimoto went for a takedown. He got stuffed and turned back around. He got in a knee. Walsh again got warned about putting his fingers in the cage before separating with a few shots. Kunimoto landed a right hand. He tried to press in with a couple of strikes. They traded punches in the center. Walsh engaged, Kunimoto grabbed another clinch, and tried for a takedown. Things stalled again for a bit before Walsh pushed Kunimoto away. Walsh tried to move forward, and landed a few strikes. Kunimoto fired back. Kunimoto shot in, but got stuffed. He landed a knee at the cage. Kunimoto tried to sneak behind Walsh standing to no avail. The clinch battle continued. Walsh got in a hard right hand, but things stalled again. That clinch battle played out again to the horn.

Penick’s Scorecard: 10-9 Walsh. Not sure Kunimoto did much offensively, although Walsh’s offense completely faded as well.

ROUND THREE: Kunimoto came out firing. Walsh returned with a few jabs. Walsh then clinched, but Kunimoto turned it into a brief takedown attempt before landing a knee to the body. Kunimoto pressed in with a combination and clinched again. Nothing happened there and Kunimoto backed off. Walsh got in a body kick, but his offense had significantly slowed. Kunimoto clinched again. Walsh broke with a knee. Walsh landed a big uppercut. He started landing several kicks. Kunimoto shot in, and he scored his first successful takedown. Walsh tried to get to his feet but Kunimoto tried to keep him down. He took his back as Walsh was on a knee at the cage. Kunimoto tried to drag him back with a rear naked choke attempt. The referee had to force Walsh’s fingers out of Kunimoto’s gloves. Lots of warnings with no action taken in this one. Kunimoto kept working for a choke, but couldn’t quite work under the chin. The referee again put hands on Walsh trying to take his hands out of Kunimoto’s gloves. Kunimoto held position, throwing some strikes from behind Walsh. Walsh tried to kick off the cage and Kunimoto almost got the choke in, but lost it before the horn. Will come down to the second round and whether judges scored a rightful 10-8 in the first.

Penick’s Scorecard: 10-9 Kunimoto. Walsh just faded, and it allowed Kunimoto to stick around and take that final round. If Kunimoto edged the second, Walsh may have cost himself this one.

WINNER: Kunimoto via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

STAR RATING: (**-) Walsh has no one to blame but himself on that one. He faded near the end of the first, and didn’t do enough to make the second round convincing in his favor. That left it up to interpretation, and Kunimoto was given the nod for the final ten minutes. In that case, it should have been a draw, but judges never consistently hand out rightful 10-8 scores.


FIGHT THREE: MIESHA TATE VS. RIN NAKAI (WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Nakai was kind of shadow boxing on the outside as Tate moved forward. Tate landed a combo. Tate got in a knee and stuffed a takedown. In the clinch, they traded knees. Tate landed an elbow. Tate tripped Nakai up. Nakai landed an upkick. She worked back up to her feet. Nakai caught another kick back on the feet but couldn’t capitalize. Tate landed a right. Tate connected on another combination. Tate connected on a hard knee as Nakai shot in. Tate held her off and shoved a forearm in her throat as she clinched. They traded shots in the clinch. They separated again. Nakai shot in and nearly got Tate to her back, but Tate scrambled well and popped to her feet. Tate threw out a few jabs. Tate landed a hard right hook. Tate landed a body punch, then went to the head. She threw a high kick. She landed a hard right hand. Nakai shot in and took Tate’s back standing at the cage. She tried for a big takedown, but Tate reversed, and broke out of the clinch shortly thereafter. Nakai landed a left. Then a right. They traded strikes before the horn.

Penick’s Scorecard: 10-9 Tate. Good opening round for Tate. Doing a lot of solid things offensively and defensively thus far.

ROUND TWO: Tate moved forward and landed a right hand. Nakai shot in and scored a takedown, but Tate got loose quickly and stood up again. Nakai tried to circle around. Tate got close and Nakai caught a kick, but Tate landed several strikes and held things off in the clinch. They battled there for awhile. Out of nowhere, Nakai snuck behind Tate and took her back with both hooks in. Nakai was too high on the back, though, and she got turned around with Tate on top on the ground. Tate landed some elbows from the top. Nakai escaped to her feet. Clinch battle again ensued on the cage. Tate backed off. Tate landed a strike to the body. Tate landed a combination at the cage. Tate barely missed a big elbow, and Nakai tried to take her down. Tate stuffed it again and landed a few strikes. She backed Nakai off with a right hand just before the horn.

Penick’s Scorecard: 10-9 Tate. Nakai’s just not having much success in many spots at this point.

ROUND THREE: Tate came straight ahead, and Nakai shot in. She nearly got her down, then snuck behind her to take her back standing. Nakai then dragged Tate to the ground. Nakai tried to get both hooks in, though Tate defended well. Tate tried to stand and Nakai hopped on her back. Nakai lost position and Tate got loose. Tate got in a hard elbow in another clinch, with a knee to the body behind it. Tate landed a couple more knees in the clinch. Nakai failed on another takedown attempt, then it was back to the clinch. Tate went for a takedown but only got separation. Tate then shot in but got stuffed. Tate got in a knee. Nakai briefly tripped Tate up again, but Tate popped up. Tate held off another attempt and landed an elbow. Nakai ducked under a strike and briefly scored another takedown. Tate again got to her feet quickly. Nakai landed some knees at the cage. Tate landed a left hand. Nakai avoided a few strikes late.

Penick’s Scorecard: 10-9 Nakai. I guess. Tate just didn’t have a lot of offense that round, while Nakai scored a couple of takedowns. I wouldn’t have a real issue with Tate getting the round, though.

WINNER: Tate via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

STAR RATING: (*) Not a good fight. Nakai didn’t have much to offer, Tate didn’t unload much out of the first round, just a dull affair.


FIGHT FOUR: YOSHIHIRO AKIYAMA VS. AMIR SADOLLAH (WELTERWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Sadollah started things off with kicks from the outside. He started to pick up some frequency, but then Akiyama shot in and scored a sweet trip right into half guard. Things slowed down significantly there, as Akiyama didn’t do a lot from the top, while Sadollah simply defended. Sadollah tried to land some strikes from his back. Akiyama briefly postured up and landed some hard elbows. Sadollah got to his knees and then got up to his feet. He turned into Akiyama in the clinch and landed a few knees. He landed a couple more strikes before separating. Akiyama landed a good spinning back kick to the body. Both got a bit tentative as the clock wound down in the round. Sadollah got in a good counter right as Akiyama lunged in. Akiyama threw a right hand that was blocked at the horn.

Penick’s Scorecard: 10-9 Akiyama. He didn’t do much, but it was more than Sadollah.

ROUND TWO: Sadollah threw more kicks to start the second, but nearly got tripped up off of one. Akiyama tried for another trip, but didn’t time it well enough. Akiyama threw a right hand. Sadollah landed a couple of leg kicks. They traded some strikes. Akiyama landed a good spinning back kick to the body. He missed a spinning back fist. Sadollah kept going high with kicks, but they weren’t entirely finding their mark. He landed a good jab. Akiyama hurt Sadollah with a straight right. He didn’t follow up with much, though, and Sadollah quickly recovered. Akiyama staggered him. He landed a few more and tripped him up. Sadollah tried to defend as Akiyama threw a bunch of strikes. Sadollah tried to threaten for a submission from his back. Akiyama continued working from the top. Sadollah slowed him down, and Akiyama dropped into his guard. Sadollah landed a good upkick as Akiyama stood up. He landed another upkick. Akiyama dropped back into his guard. He landed a few strikes. Akiyama passed to side control. Sadollah got to his feet before the round ended.

Penick’s Scorecard: 10-9 Akiyama. He had Sadollah hurt there during that round, but just wasn’t able to follow up well enough to stop it.

ROUND THREE: Sadollah faked a shot early and landed several strikes. He landed a hard jab. They traded strikes. Akiyama landed a big right hand, but Sadollah countered with a good right hand of his own. Both had some strikes blocked. Akiyama landed a good jab. He blocked a kick. Akiyama landed a hard spinning back kick to the body. He missed an uppercut and ate a counter. Akiyama pressed Sadollah back and tripped him up. He stood over Sadollah and ate an upkick before dropping into his guard. Akiyama landed some strikes from the top as Sadollah tried to look for a submission off his back. Akiyama opened up with a big flurry of strikes from the top. Akiyama took a couple of deep breaths, then opened up with strikes from the top again. Sadollah continued to defend as the strikes were coming down with reckless abandon. Akiyama finished up with a few more strikes on the ground.

Penick’s Scorecard: 10-9 Akiyama. Well, he’s going to get his first win in over five years here tonight.

WINNER: Akiyama via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

STAR RATING: (*+) Ok, fairly competitive fight, but there just wasn’t a ton to it of note.


FIGHT FIVE: MYLES JURY VS. TAKANORI GOMI (LIGHTWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Jury popped in with a leg kick. He circled a bit and feinted before throwing a kick high. He kept working from the outside. They briefly clinched. Jury then scored a knockdown on a straight right hand out of nowhere. Gomi went down, and Jury finished it off with a few strikes on the ground. Big win for Jury.

WINNER: Jury via TKO at 1:32 of the first round

STAR RATING: (**+) Impressive stoppage win for Jury. It’s a good step up for him, and more performances like that will bring him to the top end of the division sooner rather than later.


MAIN EVENT FIGHT SIX: MARK HUNT VS. ROY NELSON (HEAVYWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: They circled each other for a bit, and Hunt opened up first with a solid combination. Nelson shot in but gave it up quickly. Nelson landed an overhand right, but Hunt took it. It only grazed him. Hunt poked Nelson in the eye, bringing a halt to the action. The doctor checked on Nelson, and they allowed him to continue. Hunt landed a kick to the gut as they restarted. Nelson moved in and scored another right hand, but again Hunt took it. Hunt landed a hard leg kick. Nelson missed the overhand right, then had a shot stuffed. Hunt landed a nice combination again. Nelson barely missed a couple of big strikes. Hunt landed a hard straight right. Hunt connected again. Nelson missed a few more times as he was trying to head hunt. Nelson landed a jab as Hunt swung and missed. They traded leg kicks. More misses from both of them. Hunt missed the overhand right, and Nelson countered with a short combo. Hunt landed a body punch. He stuffed another takedown attempt and got in an uppercut. Nelson landed a hard left hand. Nelson landed a hard leg kick. Hunt missed a strike. Nelson missed. Lots of swinging and missing in this one as the round ends.

Penick’s Scorecard: 10-9 Hunt. Close round, could swing either way, but I think Hunt landed a bit more. Again, real close.

ROUND TWO: More swings and misses to start the round. Hunt landed a right, then Nelson shot in and scored the takedown. He got Hunt’s back, but was up too high and Hunt shook him off and stood up. Hunt landed a right hand. Nelson connected on a back hand after missing a strike. Hunt stalked and pawed out a jab. He landed an uppercut with a left hook behind it. Hunt connected on another short combo. Nelson landed the jab. Nelson landed a leg kick. Hunt missed a couple of big punches. Hunt landed a hard straight right. Nelson fired back with a body kick. Hunt stopped a takedown attempt with an uppercut. Hunt landed the uppercut again. Hunt landed a hard left hand. Nelson pressed back in. He was stuffed on another takedown attempt. Hunt walked him down and landed an uppercut that floored Nelson! Hunt just raised his arms! Walk off KO! Wow. Nelson had never been knocked out before, but that uppercut hit him like a freaking shotgun blast to the jaw.

WINNER: Hunt via KO at 3:00 of the second round

STAR RATING: (***) That fight was what people hoped to see, and Hunt delivered something seen just once before with that KO, as Nelson had only ever been stopped once by strikes. Sick finish, and Hunt did a fantastic job timing the uppercut as Nelson left himself open for it.

Well, thanks for sticking with us this morning, we’ll have more later in the day reacting to the event, and we turn our attention this week to UFC 178 next weekend on pay-per-view!