Tag: UFC Japan

Jessica Andrade vs. Claudia Gadelha Full Fight Video Highlights

After securing her first UFC finish over Karolina Kowalkiewicz at June’s UFC 212, former women’s strawweight challenger Claudia Gadelha was looking to lock up a third bout with champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk when she battled Jessica Andrade in the co-main event of last night’s (Fri., September 22, 2017) UFC Fight Night 117 from the Saitama Super […]

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After securing her first UFC finish over Karolina Kowalkiewicz at June’s UFC 212, former women’s strawweight challenger Claudia Gadelha was looking to lock up a third bout with champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk when she battled Jessica Andrade in the co-main event of last night’s (Fri., September 22, 2017) UFC Fight Night 117 from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Despite an extremely strong start where she showed crisp, accurate punches, however, it was her Brazilian countrymate Andrade who weathered the storm to batter a tiring Gadelha when the fight became a bloody, all-out battle in the final two rounds. Also a former title contender, Andrade used a never-ending stream of huge slams and top control to bludgeon Gadelha and take the gas out of her tank, landing 141 significant strikes including several ground shots to the body.

In a card full of impressive performances, the bout deservedly earned “Fight of the Night” and should put Andrade back up on the short list of legit contenders for Jedrzejczyk’s iron grip on the belt. Watch full highlights of Andrade’s most telling UFC victory here:

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UFC Japan Post-Fight Press Conference

The UFC continued their packed September schedule with tonight’s (Fri., September 22, 2017) UFC Fight Night 117 from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Light heavyweight contender Ovince Saint Preux met late replacement and returning veteran Yushin Okami in the main event, ending the fight early and scoring a second straight finish in Japan with […]

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The UFC continued their packed September schedule with tonight’s (Fri., September 22, 2017) UFC Fight Night 117 from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Light heavyweight contender Ovince Saint Preux met late replacement and returning veteran Yushin Okami in the main event, ending the fight early and scoring a second straight finish in Japan with his third overall Von Flue choke.

Top-ranked women’s strawweight Claudia Gadelha faced fellow former title contender Jessica Andrade in the co-main event, and the fight turned into an absolute bloodbath with Gadelha controlling the action early with some cutting elbows. But Andrade bided her time and took the fight over in the second and third, slamming and battering her Brazilian rival with a bludgeoning assault of ground and pound.

The fighters will answer questions for the media at the post-fight press conference streaming live in the video shortly after the main card’s conclusion below:

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Ovince Saint Preux vs. Yushin Okami Full Fight Video Highlights

Top-ranked UFC light heavyweight Ovince Saint Preux was forced to go through a last-minute opponent change when Yushin Okami replaced his original foe Shogun Rua in the main event of tonight’s (Fri., September 22, 2017) UFC Fight Night 117 from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, but he didn’t let that stop him. Not in […]

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Top-ranked UFC light heavyweight Ovince Saint Preux was forced to go through a last-minute opponent change when Yushin Okami replaced his original foe Shogun Rua in the main event of tonight’s (Fri., September 22, 2017) UFC Fight Night 117 from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, but he didn’t let that stop him.

Not in the slightest, in fact, as Saint Preux used his signature submission to extend his own record when he won a third UFC bout via rarely-seen Von Flue choke when Okami went for an ill-fated takedown early in the fight, only to make the mistake of wrapping up a lazy guillotine from half guard.

The win kept Saint Preux’s momentum in the super-shallow light heavyweight arena afloat, and a title shot could be around the corner for the former interim title challenger. Watch the full fight video highlights of “OSP’s” impressive stoppage here:

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UFC Japan Predictions: Will ‘Thunder’ Roll In Return?

It’s not receiving much (or any) hype in the tangible post-Mayweather vs. McGregor hangover period, but the UFC will return to the Land Of The Rising Sun tonight (Fri., September 22, 2017) with UFC Fight Night 117 from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. In the main event, light heavyweight contender Ovince Saint Preux will […]

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It’s not receiving much (or any) hype in the tangible post-Mayweather vs. McGregor hangover period, but the UFC will return to the Land Of The Rising Sun tonight (Fri., September 22, 2017) with UFC Fight Night 117 from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

In the main event, light heavyweight contender Ovince Saint Preux will take on short-notice veteran Yushin ‘Thunder’ Okami, who just replaced former champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua last weekend. In the co-main, top-ranked strawweight Claudia Gadelha will meet recent title challenger Jessica Andrade for a spot near the top of the women’s 115-pound ranks.

Legendary K-1 competitor Gokhan Sakhi will also make his UFC debut on the card as well when he meets knockout striker Henrique da Silva.

Find who we picked to win on the UFC Japan main card right here.

Yushin Okami vs. Ovince Saint Preux:

Japan native Okami will get to showcase his skills on the grandest stage mixed martial arts (MMA) has to offer in the UFC’s Octagon, and he’ll challenge proven finisher and former interim light heavyweight title challenger Ovince Saint Preux. “OSP” comes off of a momentous second-round submission win via Von Flue choke over Marcos Rogerio de Lima. Okami is riding a four-fight win streak and has no intention of becoming the University Of Tennessee alumni’s next highlight reel finish.

Pick:  Okami via Split Decision.

Jessica Andrade vs. Claudia Gadelha

Andrade comes off of a failed attempt at taking UFC strawweight champion Joanna J?drzejczyk’s throne, while Gadelha rides the momentum of a dominant first-round submission win over fellow former title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz. Gadelha is one of the most well-rounded fighters in the division and came the closest to downing J?drzejczyk inside the Octagon.

Pick: Gadelha should retain her position as gatekeeper of the 115-pound title shot with a unanimous decision win.

Takanori Gomi vs. “Maestro” Dong Hyun Kim

The 38-year-old Gomi is a legend of the MMA game and has put on some of the more fierce bouts in the history of the sport, but the game has begun to catch up with the Japanese veteran who is on a four-fight losing streak in which he has been finished in each in the first round. Taking on a competitor the caliber of “Stun Gunn,” who comes off a disappointing loss to rising welterweight star Colby Covington, won’t bode well for Gomi either.

Pick: Kim via R1 KO.

Henrique da Silva vs. Gokhan Saki

K-1 legend Gokhan Saki will be competing in his second-ever MMA bout since his debut back in 2004, and will be competing in his last fight since April of 2015. De Silva started off his MMA career in an extremely promising way, going 12-0 before losing three straight over the past year.

Pick: I expect de Silva to get back on the winning track with a win over a lesser experienced Saki via R1 KO.

Rolando Dy vs. Teruto Ishihara

Ishihara’s UFC career looked extremely promising after picking up back-to-back knockout wins back in 2016, but after a pair of losses to the likes of Artem Lobov and Gray Maynard, it’s time for him to take a step back against Rolando Dy, who comes into his second fight under the UFC banner. With Dy coming off a second-round TKO loss to Alex Caceres via doctor stoppage, both men have something to prove in their return to the Octagon.

Pick: Something tells me Ishihara returns to his finishing ways with a second-round knockout win.

Jussier Formiga vs. Ulka Sasaki

Sasaki’s height has paid off huge dividends at the 125-pound weight class, standing at five-foot-ten, and having picked up three submission wins in his UFC tenure. Formiga has lost two of his last three fights to former UFC flyweight title challengers Henry Cejudo and Wilson Reis. Sasaki is looking to get in on the 125-pound title picture and should be fighting with a ton of motivation to do so.

Pick: Sasaki via R2 submission.

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Another UFC Fighter Out Due To Failed Weight Cut

A botched weight cut has cost the UFC yet another main card bout. After three-fight UFC featherweight veteran Mizuto Hirota missed weight yesterday for tonight’s (Fri., September 22, 2017) UFC Fight Night 117 from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, the UFC’s medical team deemed him unfit to compete in his scheduled main card bout […]

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A botched weight cut has cost the UFC yet another main card bout.

After three-fight UFC featherweight veteran Mizuto Hirota missed weight yesterday for tonight’s (Fri., September 22, 2017) UFC Fight Night 117 from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, the UFC’s medical team deemed him unfit to compete in his scheduled main card bout against Charles Rosa.

Read the promotion’s full statement from their official website here:

“Due to health and safety concerns, the UFC featherweight bout Hirota vs. Rosa at UFC Fight Night Japan: Saint Preux vs. Okami has been cancelled, as Hirota was deemed unfit to compete by the UFC medical team.

UFC Fight Night Japan: Saint Preux vs. Okami will proceed as scheduled with 10 bouts at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Moving to the main card will be the flyweight bout between Jussier Formiga and Ulka Sasaki.”

Hirota came to the weigh-ins highly overweight of the featherweight limit of 146 pounds at 150, and appeared to be slightly stumbling and disjointed when he stepped on the scale yesterday courtesy of MMA Junkie:

The UFC and the local athletic commissions it works with to put on each event have recently begun ramping up attempts to curb drastic weight-cutting in MMA, as it’s become the center of a hotbed of discussion surrounding the sport.

While losing Hirota vs. Rosa may not appear all that damning for UFC Japan on the surface, it’s simply the latest in a long and disappointing string of bout cancellations in 2017 due to illness before or after the weigh-ins, with fights like UFC 209’s Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov, UFC 213’s Amanda Nunes vs. Valentina Shevchenko, and UFC 215’s Demetrious Johnson vs. Ray Borg all falling apart at the last minute, even if Nunes and Borg claimed weight cutting had nothing to do with the latter two call-offs.

Regardless, it’s clear that extreme weight cutting is causing problems for new UFC owners WME-IMG, and with ratings down across the board in 2017, it’s only one of many problems they’ll have to solve – and quickly – if they want to turn things around for next year.

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Urijah Faber Off UFC Japan Card, Replaced By the Last Guy He Beat


(With a cleft like that, Glazer is committing borderline sexual harassment here. Photo via Faber’s instagram.)

Last week (or maybe earlier this week, I’ve been drinking a lot lately), we informed you that Urijah Faber had been booked to face some guy who threw his last opponent out of the ring at Fight Night 52: Hunt vs. Nelson (a.k.a “The Japan Card”). I think his name was Masupingpong Toyatasuzuki, but then again, I’m *incredibly* racist.

In any case, word broke earlier today that Faber has been forced out of said matchup with said guy who threw his last opponent out of the ring due to an undisclosed injury (lotta that going around lately). As luck would have it, the UFC quickly found an entertaining, if slightly less known fighter to replace Faber: TUF 12 alum Alex Caceres, a.k.a the last guy Faber beat. (This means that now would be a good time to set down the bong, Alex.)

Faber and Caceres met at UFC 175 in the always coveted prelim main event slot, with Faber emerging victorious by third round submission via Hulk arms. Shamalamadingdong, on the other hand, will be making his UFC debut, having finished his last six fights in a row before throwing that poor sonofabitch out of the ring. God, I wish there was a video available of that fight.

Predictions, please.

–J. Jones


(With a cleft like that, Glazer is committing borderline sexual harassment here. Photo via Faber’s instagram.)

Last week (or maybe earlier this week, I’ve been drinking a lot lately), we informed you that Urijah Faber had been booked to face some guy who threw his last opponent out of the ring at Fight Night 52: Hunt vs. Nelson (a.k.a “The Japan Card”). I think his name was Masupingpong Toyatasuzuki, but then again, I’m *incredibly* racist.

In any case, word broke earlier today that Faber has been forced out of said matchup with said guy who threw his last opponent out of the ring due to an undisclosed injury (lotta that going around lately). As luck would have it, the UFC quickly found an entertaining, if slightly less known fighter to replace Faber: TUF 12 alum Alex Caceres, a.k.a the last guy Faber beat. (This means that now would be a good time to set down the bong, Alex.)

Faber and Caceres met at UFC 175 in the always coveted prelim main event slot, with Faber emerging victorious by third round submission via Hulk arms. Shamalamadingdong, on the other hand, will be making his UFC debut, having finished his last six fights in a row before throwing that poor sonofabitch out of the ring. God, I wish there was a video available of that fight.

Predictions, please.

–J. Jones