(Tate vs. Nakai and Hunt vs. Nelson — the only weigh-ins you really care about. Complete UFC Fight Night 52 weigh-in video is after the jump.)
Mark Hunthad us nervous yesterday, but he — and everyone else — successfully made weight earlier today for UFC Fight Night 52 in Saitama, Japan. Hunt hit the scales at 264 pounds, which means he cut a full twenty pounds in the 24 hours prior to weigh-ins. (Our sources tell us that he’s already rehydrated up to 385.)
Also, Rin Nakai walked to the scale in some sort of samurai-hooker costume, then stripped it off to reveal an American flag/Superman bikini top. I was hoping for something tentacle-related, but whaddya gonna do. Full “Hunt vs. Nelson” weigh-in results are below…
Main Card (Fight Pass, 3 a.m. ET / 12 a.m. PT)
Mark Hunt (264) vs. Roy Nelson (260)
Myles Jury (156) vs. Takanori Gomi (155)
Yoshihiro Akiyama (170) vs. Amir Sadollah (170)
Miesha Tate (135) vs. Rin Nakai (135)
Kiichi Kunimoto (171) vs. Richard Walsh (171)
Kyoji Horiguchi (125) vs. Jon delos Reyes (125)
Preliminary Card (Fight Pass, 12:30 a.m. ET / 9:30 p.m. PT)
Alex Caceres (135) vs. Masanori Kanehara (135)
Katsunori Kikuno (146) vs. Sam Sicilia (145)
Hyun Gyu Lim (171) vs. Takenori Sato (169)
Michinori Tanaka (135) vs. Kyung Ho Kang (136)
Kazuki Tokudome (155) vs. Johnny Case (156)
Maximo Blanco (146) vs. Daniel Hooker (145)
(Tate vs. Nakai and Hunt vs. Nelson — the only weigh-ins you really care about. Complete UFC Fight Night 52 weigh-in video is after the jump.)
Mark Hunthad us nervous yesterday, but he — and everyone else — successfully made weight earlier today for UFC Fight Night 52 in Saitama, Japan. Hunt hit the scales at 264 pounds, which means he cut a full twenty pounds in the 24 hours prior to weigh-ins. (Our sources tell us that he’s already rehydrated up to 385.)
Also, Rin Nakai walked to the scale in some sort of samurai-hooker costume, then stripped it off to reveal an American flag/Superman bikini top. I was hoping for something tentacle-related, but whaddya gonna do. Full “Hunt vs. Nelson” weigh-in results are below…
Main Card (Fight Pass, 3 a.m. ET / 12 a.m. PT)
Mark Hunt (264) vs. Roy Nelson (260)
Myles Jury (156) vs. Takanori Gomi (155)
Yoshihiro Akiyama (170) vs. Amir Sadollah (170)
Miesha Tate (135) vs. Rin Nakai (135)
Kiichi Kunimoto (171) vs. Richard Walsh (171)
Kyoji Horiguchi (125) vs. Jon delos Reyes (125)
Preliminary Card (Fight Pass, 12:30 a.m. ET / 9:30 p.m. PT)
Alex Caceres (135) vs. Masanori Kanehara (135)
Katsunori Kikuno (146) vs. Sam Sicilia (145)
Hyun Gyu Lim (171) vs. Takenori Sato (169)
Michinori Tanaka (135) vs. Kyung Ho Kang (136)
Kazuki Tokudome (155) vs. Johnny Case (156)
Maximo Blanco (146) vs. Daniel Hooker (145)
Outside of the Mark Hunt vs Roy Nelson main event, the most compelling matchup at this Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 52 event in Saitama might be Miesha Tate vs. Rin Nakai — a meeting between an American former title contender and an undefeated Japanese mythical creature best known for semi-nude baking. The oddsmakers have Tate (rightly) pegged as a strong -240 favorite, but with the burly Nakai enjoying home-field advantage, it’s hard to count her out completely.
This “Fighting Queens” promo gives us a closer look at Nakai’s backstory, judo prowess, and training environment, and reveals her as a humble competitor who welcomes the challenge of representing Japanese women in the Octagon. As her trainer Fumio Usami puts it: “In order to make MMA really take off in Japan, I think a Japanese fighter needs to win. I think it’s important that Rin Nakai wins.”
Also, some random pervy dude takes photos of Miesha Tate and her friend at a shrine or something. Check it out.
Outside of the Mark Hunt vs Roy Nelson main event, the most compelling matchup at this Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 52 event in Saitama might be Miesha Tate vs. Rin Nakai — a meeting between an American former title contender and an undefeated Japanese mythical creature best known for semi-nude baking. The oddsmakers have Tate (rightly) pegged as a strong -240 favorite, but with the burly Nakai enjoying home-field advantage, it’s hard to count her out completely.
This “Fighting Queens” promo gives us a closer look at Nakai’s backstory, judo prowess, and training environment, and reveals her as a humble competitor who welcomes the challenge of representing Japanese women in the Octagon. As her trainer Fumio Usami puts it: “In order to make MMA really take off in Japan, I think a Japanese fighter needs to win. I think it’s important that Rin Nakai wins.”
Also, some random pervy dude takes photos of Miesha Tate and her friend at a shrine or something. Check it out.
On September 20th, UFC Fight Night 52: Hunt vs. Nelson pops off at the Saitama Super Arena, and it’s (tentatively) loaded with so many MMA legends, wild personalities, and physical behemoths that it almost feels like the lineup to a PRIDE New Year’s Eve card. And so, a YouTube hero named PrideDream2013 has made a 27-minute extended trailer previewing some the bouts and fighters that have been confirmed for the event, and a few that haven’t yet.
Part 2 of the promo is after the jump, which focuses on Rin Nakai and Takanori Gomi. Check it out, and ask yourself: Wouldn’t it be nice if all UFC events were promoted like this?
On September 20th, UFC Fight Night 52: Hunt vs. Nelson pops off at the Saitama Super Arena, and it’s (tentatively) loaded with so many MMA legends, wild personalities, and physical behemoths that it almost feels like the lineup to a PRIDE New Year’s Eve card. And so, a YouTube hero named PrideDream2013 has made a 27-minute extended trailer previewing some the bouts and fighters that have been confirmed for the event, and a few that haven’t yet.
Part 2 of the promo is after the jump, which focuses on Rin Nakai and Takanori Gomi. Check it out, and ask yourself: Wouldn’t it be nice if all UFC events were promoted like this?
Here we have new UFC acquisitionRin Nakai (left, dressed in white w/tiara) and UFC president Dana White (right, dressed in black w/o tiara) at a press conference for UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Nelson earlier today in Tokyo. I don’t know if they planned those outfits together or what, but it kind of makes Dana look like a comic book villain who kidnapped a princess, and Kyoji Horiguchi has to battle his way up from the prelims to save her. Plus, White’s hand is around Nakai’s waist, which isn’t something that he normally does with his male fighters during photo-ops. I’m just saying. There’s a pretty good chance he called her “sweetheart” at some point.
Your captions, please.
(Photo by Keith Tsuji for Getty Images)
Here we have new UFC acquisitionRin Nakai (left, dressed in white w/tiara) and UFC president Dana White (right, dressed in black w/o tiara) at a press conference for UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Nelson earlier today in Tokyo. I don’t know if they planned those outfits together or what, but it kind of makes Dana look like a comic book villain who kidnapped a princess, and Kyoji Horiguchi has to battle his way up from the prelims to save her. Plus, White’s hand is around Nakai’s waist, which isn’t something that he normally does with his male fighters during photo-ops. I’m just saying. There’s a pretty good chance he called her “sweetheart” at some point.
Tate (14-5) recently earned her first win in the UFC, out-pointing Liz Carmouche at UFC on FOX 11 in April. Nakai (16-0-1) is an undefeated Queen of Pancrase — although the promotion has occasionally had to bend the rules to keep her impressive record intact. Random fact: Nakai’s height is listed at 5’1″, which makes her even shorter than John Dodson. We can’t wait for her first post-fight interview with Helwani.
Does anybody else feel like Tate vs. Nakai is a direct response to Bellator’s latestmoves? I picture Joe Silva huddled on his laptop saying, “Oh, you think you can beat us on freak show fights, huh? We can do this all day, homie.”
After the jump: Videos of Rin Nakai working out topless — tastefully shot from behind — and bouncing on an exercise ball while giggling. #fitnessmotivation
(…everything else is virtually identical. / Image via McKinley Noble)
Tate (14-5) recently earned her first win in the UFC, out-pointing Liz Carmouche at UFC on FOX 11 in April. Nakai (16-0-1) is an undefeated Queen of Pancrase — although the promotion has occasionally had to bend the rules to keep her impressive record intact. Random fact: Nakai’s height is listed at 5’1″, which makes her even shorter than John Dodson. We can’t wait for her first post-fight interview with Helwani.
Does anybody else feel like Tate vs. Nakai is a direct response to Bellator’s latestmoves? I picture Joe Silva huddled on his laptop saying, “Oh, you think you can beat us on freak show fights, huh? We can do this all day, homie.”
After the jump: Videos of Rin Nakai working out topless — tastefully shot from behind — and bouncing on an exercise ball while giggling. #fitnessmotivation
“I’m disappointed but wish her the best and hope to face her in the future,” said Kedzie. The SI report adds:
Kedzie already has a suggested replacement: Rin Nikai [sic], of Japan. Nikai beat Kedzie’s Jackson/Winklejohn teammate Tara La Rosa on a controversial decision in September. Nikai, however, is not currently under UFC contract.
“I’m disappointed but wish her the best and hope to face her in the future,” said Kedzie. The SI report adds:
Kedzie already has a suggested replacement: Rin Nikai [sic], of Japan. Nikai beat Kedzie’s Jackson/Winklejohn teammate Tara La Rosa on a controversial decision in September. Nikai, however, is not currently under UFC contract.
