The UFC returns to the land of the rising sun next Saturday night, and brings with it one of the most anticipated heavyweight bouts of the year. Mark Hunt vs. Roy Nelson is the UFC equivalent of Godzilla vs. King Kong, and it tops of an exciting card that also sees appearances by a returning Yoshihiro Akiyama, top women's bantamweight Miesha Tate, and the always exciting Takanori Gomi, otherwise known as the Fireball Kid. The card did take a bit of a blow when Urijah Faber was forced out due to injury, and while it is loaded with local talent like many recent Brazilian cards, it avoids some of the criticism of those cards by being a more balanced offering overall. Kiichi Kunimoto, for example, is on a six fight win streak, and is coming off a Performance of the Night submission over Daniel Sarafian. Rin Nakai, known as the Queen of Pancrase, makes her debut against former title challenger and top bantamweigth Miesha Tate, and Yoshihiro Akiyama gets back in the cage for the first time in years. In the co-main event, the legendary Takanori Gomi looks to make it two in a row over the undefeated Myles Jury. Gomi is coming off a Fight of the Night win over Isaac Vallie-Flagg. It's the main event, however, that makes this card, as good as some of the early fights are. It's what makes the card worthy of staying up late Friday night (or waking up early Saturday morning), as the main card kicks off at 3:30AM EST. It'll likely be past 5AM when Hunt and Nelson climb into the cage - but it still isn't to be missed. Who's due for a win? Will we see any upsets? Will it be King Kong or Godzilla? Lets take a look at predictions for all six main card fights at UFC Fight Night 52.
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.
