UFC Fight Night 52 took place this morning on Fight Pass from the fabled Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, and the card overall was absolutely fantastic on every level possible. In total, nine betting favorites and three underdogs won based on the closing odds at Several Bookmakers. Here’s a quick recap for each fight. Favorites That Won In the main event of the evening, Mark Hunt defeated Roy Nelson via KO (punch). Hunt found a home for a massive uppercut in the second round and put Nelson away in devastating fashion for the biggest win of his UFC career. Hunt cashed as a -120 favorite (bet $120 to win $100) while Nelson lost as a +110 dog (bet $100 to win $110). In a lightweight bout, Myles Jury defeated Takanori Gomi via first-round KO (punches). Jury connected with a beautiful punched that dropped Gomi early in the first round and he finished it off with ground and pound for the biggest win of his career to date. Jury scored as a -605 fav while Gomi lost as a +505 dog. In a welterweight bout, Yoshihiro Akiyama defeated Amir Sadollah via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3). Akiyama landed a number of key takedowns and also rocked Sadollah on multiple occasions to take home a clear-cut victory in his best UFC performance to date. Akiyama scored as a -155 favorite while Sadollah lost as a +145 dog. In a women’s bantamweight bout, Miesha Tate defeated Rin Nakai via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27 x 3). Tate defended the majority of Nakai’s takedowns throughout the feet and outstruck her on the feet en route to a decision win. Tate was a -310 favorite while Nakai was a +280 dog. In a welterweight bout, Kiichi Kunimoto defeated Richard Walsh via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28). Kunimoto was outstruck in the first two rounds but came back to win the third with his grappling. Yet, somehow, two of the judges found a way to give him two rounds and Walsh was robbed of a decision win. Ultimately, Kunimoto scored as a -235 favorite while Walsh lost as a +215 dog. In a flyweight bout, Kyogi Horiguchi defeated Jon delos Reyes via first-round TKO (punches). Horiguchi hurt Reyes throughout the first round with kicks and punches before finally stopping him with ground and pound late in the first round. Horiguchi scored as a -660 favorite while Reyes lost as a +540 dog. In a featherweight bout, Katsunori Kikuno defeated via second-round submission (rear-naked choke). After a close first round that was mainly contested on the feet, Kikuno took Sicilia down in the second and was able to latch on the submission for highlight-reel win. He cashed at -145, while Sicilia lost at +135. In a welterweight bout, Hyun Gyu Lim defeated Takenori Sato via first-round TKO (elbows). Sato dived in for a single leg and Lim starting hitting him with hammerfists to the side of the head and then switched it to elbows to get the stoppage win. He scored as a -660 fav while Sato lost as a +540 dog. In a featherweight bout, Maximo Blanco defeated Daniel Hooker via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3). Blanco absolutely torched Hooker with a high volume of strikes in the first two rounds, but faded badly in round three and was nearly finished by Hooker, who showed a very strong chin in the fight. Still, Blanco won, and he cashed as a -135 favorite while Hooker lost as a +125 dog. Underdogs That Won In a bantamweight contest, Masanori Kanehara defeated Alex Caceres via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3), Kanehara won the first two rounds with his grappling advantage, but had to sweat a losing third as Caceres mounted his comeback. Still, Kanehara managed to hold on to the win and cash as a +265 dog, while Caceres lost as a -295 favorite. In a bantamweight bout, Kyung Ho Kang defeated Michinori Tanaka via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28). This was an amazing grapple-fest between two fantastic fighters and it’s surely a Fight of the Year candidate. The fight legitimately could have gone either way but Kang had more dominant positions on the ground and deserved the nod, although it was extremely close. Kang scored as a +140 dog, while Tanaka lost as a -150 favorite in a razor-close decision. In a lightweight bout, Johnny Case defeated Kazuki Tokudome via second-round submission (guillotine choke). Tokudome won the first round with his wrestling, but in the second Case was able to land a massive punch that felled Tokduome and Case immediately snatched in the guillotine choke for the win. Case cashed as a +120 dog, while Tokduome lost as a -130 favorite.
