First off, lets cut to the chase: Mark Hunt did the unthinkable with his second round knockout of Roy "Big Country" Nelson at UFC Fight Night 52, otherwise known as UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Nelson. No one had ever knocked Big Country out in the UFC. No one other than Andrei Arlovski had even given him a TKO in his entire career. The along came Hunt, the 40-year old comeback story, a former Pride fighter the UFC didn't even want when they purchased the promotion (they offered to pay him to sit out his contract, he refused and demanded to fight) returning to his old stomping grounds in Japan. And what happens? We don't call it an upset, but no one - and we mean no one - expected Mark Hunt to have a walk-off knockout over Roy Nelson at the end of the night. What about the rest of the card? Japan's Queen of Pancrase, Rin Nakai, put in a sold effort but struggled against Miesha Tate. Sexyyama himself, Yoshihiro Akiyama, put on one of the best fights of his career at age 39, and after two years away from the sport. Takanori Gomi suffered a surprise, early knockout loss, and probably lost any chance of breaking into the top ten in the UFC's lightweight division. With all that said, it was an exciting, action packed card. Lets take a look at ten lessons we learned from UFC Fight Night 52 in Tokyo, Japan!
Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.
