The last time most mainstream MMA fans might remember the cage in Japan was DREAM 14, which was the night that saw Nick Diaz defeat Hayato “Mach” Sakurai and Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto defeat Federico “Kiko” Lopez.
Since then, ONE Fighting Championship (Singapore) and DARE Fight Sports (Thailand) have been the lone Asian promotions to use the cage, aside from DEEP’s Cage Impact (Japan) events, so the cage has not been seen all that recently in the Japanese scene.
Which begs the question of whether or not the cage will create a response when The Octagon comes to Saitama for UFC 144 this Saturday.
Will it?
It’s not for certain, but there’s always a shot.
The cage may bring a different feel than what fans are used to seeing. The things that will happen inside the cage are things that, whether the fans like it or find fault with it, would not happen in the ring.
Japanese fans who have seen the cage before, though, will know exactly what to expect when the cage door shuts, but what’ll be the reaction from those who haven’t seen the cage?
Moreover, if not one person in the Saitama Super Arena has seen a fight inside a cage before, will they be able to respond to the change well enough to enjoy the action?
Again, it’s not for certain, but in front of the most reverent crowd in MMA, it’s tough to not like the UFC’s chances of putting on four hours of in-cage action and still getting as warm a reception as any they’ve gotten for a live event.
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