In the UFC’s return to the Land of the Rising Sun they have delivered a card stacked with Pride veterans and emerging talent from throughout Asia as well as a generous sprinkling of high level UFC talent. Headlined by Wanderlei Silva and Brian Stann, the UFC’s latest Fuel TV offering is arguably their strongest yet and the quality of fights does not diminish when you scroll down to take a look at the undercard. Here’s why you should be tuning in a little early to catch the prelims.
Riki Fukuda (19-6-0) vs. Brad Tavares (9-1-0) –
Fukuda is a very durable fighter and has made an encouraging start to his UFC career. His official record of 2-2 is slightly misleading however; as many believe he was robbed of a decision victory against Nick Ring in his 2011 UFC debut. In his last outing, Fukuda was seen besting Tom DeBlass in relentless fashion earning the unanimous victory back in November of last year. Fukuda will be up against Brad Tavares, a highly entertaining middleweight who since appearing on The Ultimate Fighter season 11 has compiled a healthy 4-1 record. Tavares is coming off of a split decision victory over Tom Watson last September and will bring in to this fight a solid, well-rounded MMA skillset. With neither fighter afraid to engage, I can quite easily see this being something of an all-out war taking place all over the Octagon with the fans being treated to a full-on MMA battle of wills and skills.
Takeya Mizugaki (16-7-0) vs. Bryan “Kid Lightning” Caraway (17-5-0) –
Mizugaki has fought a who’s who of elite bantamweights since signing on with the then active and Zuffa owned WEC promotion back in 2009, however he has failed to beat any of them. While a Miguel Torres, Scott Jorgensen, Urijah Faber or Brian Bowles defeat on your record is nothing to be sniffed at; when you have an accumulation of those names it does tend to demonstrate a lack of quality needed to take on the leading fighters at 135lbs. In Brian Caraway, Mizugaki wont be fighting a top contender in the division, he will be taking on a competent challenger and a very dangerous submission artist (11 of Caraway’s 17 wins have come via tap out). After an unsuccessful stint in the WEC, Caraway first came to our attention on season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter and since then he has started his UFC career promisingly with successive submission victories. This is an intriguing bout for both men as it may determine how each fighter’s near future pans out. If Mizugaki triumphs it confirms what we already know about the guy, that he is a talented yet somewhat limited fighter. Whereas if Caraway succeeds, he should be in line for a deserved step-up in competition as well as a significant boost in the UFC rankings.
Cristiano Marcello (13-4-0) vs. Kazuko Tokudome (11-3-0) –
Marcello is another former TUF competitor on the card and if we’re being perfectly honest with ourselves, he’s perhaps a tad fortunate to still be in employment. Having experienced consecutive knockout losses whilst on the show and in the finale, lightweight Marcello was somehow rewarded with a slot on the Brazilian based UFC 153 where he squeaked out a highly contentious split decision win over Reza Madadi. This isn’t to say that he is without skills. Marcello is a 4th-degree BJJ black belt, trained and taught at the notorious Chute Boxe Academy and has vast amounts of experience behind him having started his fighting career in 1998. However his activity has been sporadic at times and a three year gap between fights is not uncommon. Tokudome will be stepping in to the Octagon for the first time when he takes on Marcello and has fought almost exclusively in his Japanese homeland. To say I know very little about Tokudome would be a huge overstatement on my part. Although from taking a look at Tokudome’s record he seems more than capable of competing wherever the fight ends up. However it would be wise for Tokudome to stay away from the grappling side of MMA in this particular bout as it is unlikely he would have faced a competitor with the submission prowess that Marcello will be bringing to the table.
Alex “Bruce Leeroy” Caceres (8-5-0) vs. Kyung Ho Kang (11-6-0) –
Bantamweight Alex Caceres will be a familiar face to UFC fans after a memorable run on season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter. Best known for his smiley disposition, flashy striking and love of all things Bruce Lee, Caceres experienced a bumpy start to his UFC career and after his first four fights he had compiled a disappointing 1-3 record. Although some fighters have been cut from the promotion for better records than that, Caceres was kept around and has begun repaying his employers faith in him by dispatching with Damacio Page and Motonobu Tezuka in back-to-back victories. Kang will be making his promotional debut on Saturday night and is riding a three-fight win streak going in to the fight. Kang is the slightly more experienced of the two and enjoyed success in his native South Korea by capturing the inaugural Road FC bantamweight title last June. With 8 of Kang’s 11 wins coming via submission, Caceres will want to try and keep the fight standing to avoid entering his opponent’s comfort zone and ensure a smoother path to victory. This is the second time the pair has been matched up as Caceres and Kang were set to go at it this past November on the UFC’s first venture in to China, UFC on Fuel TV 6, only for Kang to pull out of the fight due to injury.
Marcelo Guimares (8-0-0) vs. Hyun Gyu Lim (10-3-0) –
The evening’s fights kicks off with a welterweight battle between former Jungle Fight middleweight champion, Marcelo Guimares and the hulking South Korean Hyun Gyu Lim. Like Caceres and Kang, this is not the first time these men have been scheduled to fight and were also originally pencilled in for a spot on the UFC on Fuel TV 6 fight card. Guimares was forced to withdraw from the bout with injury and Lim was eventually forced off the card after doctors deemed him too unfit to fight.
