UFC Fight Night 34 Date: January 4, 2013 Arena: Marina Bay sands City: Marina Bay, Singapore. Bantamweight bout: Kyung Ho Kang (-300) vs Shunichi Shimizu (+250) Fight Breakdown: Kicking things off on the preliminary card is a bantamweight scrap between ONE FC veteran Leandro “Brodinho” Issa and Tachi Palace bantamweight champion Russell Doane. Brodinho is currently the favorite in this bout at -150 ($150 to win $100), and Doane is an underdog at +110 ($100 to win $110) at Several Bookmakerss. KYUNG HO KANG (11-7-1 NCMMA, 0-1-1 NC UFC) may very well have his back against the wall as he gets ready to make his third appearance inside the Octagon, looking to pick up his first win. He is coming off of a unanimous decision loss against Chico Camus just over four months ago. I personally scored that bout for Kang, and felt he was robbed by the judges in a hometown decision. The loss followed split decision he dropped against Alex Caceres in China ten months ago, the result of which was later turned into a No Contest, because Caceres tested positive for having Marijuana metabolites in his system. Many felt Kang deserved the nod in that fight, as well, but I personally had that one scored for Caceres. Kang is a very talented grappler who possesses great takedowns, and makes excellent transitions. He is dominant from the top position, as he is a threat with submissions, and loves to nail down powerful shots. The Korean has decent judo skills, and he is a solid striker. He is effective with his stand-up, and sometimes flashy. He is definitely fun to watch. Kang is one of the lighter-weight training partners of Korea’s UFC welterweight, “Stun Gun” Dong Hyun Kim. He has been dropped several times in fights, and knocked out once, but he generally has a decent chin. Kang keeps a fast pace, and has solid cardio, so he should be ready to go the distance against Shimizu, if necessary. SHUNICHI SHIMIZU (28-8-10 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is has more draws than losses on his record, which I find incredibly strange. It leads me to think that there was definitely some strange judging going on in his fights. If you would count all the draws as decision losses, his record would be 28-28, but if you were to count them as wins, it would be a very impressive 38-8. One thing is for certain, Shimizu does not look like a 38-8 fighter, but he does look like he could be a 28-28 fighter. He has a lot of fights under his belt, especially for a 28 year old, but a lot of them have been against very low level competition. Kang is arguably Shimizu’s toughest test to date, and that is not good news for him, because he has slowed down in decent bouts, and has appeared to be on a bit of a decline at the young age of 28. I think it is a result of all the wear and tear. You won’t find many 28 year olds with 46 professional MMA fights on their resume. Shimizu is a bit slow, and his footwork is a little sloppy. He’s a decent grappler who prefers the single leg, but isn’t generally very good at scoring takedowns, especially against fighters who know how to properly defend them. He is not very active on the feet, as he puts out a low volume of strikes. He has a tendency to telegraph his strikes and takedown attempts, which won’t do him any favors against a fighter like Kang. He throws decent kicks, and has a nice flying knee which he likes to use. Shimizu has a great offensive submission game, but his defensive submission game could use some work, as could his defensive grappling, in general. His takedown defense is decent, but I think he could easily be taken down by a talented grappler, which means I believe Kang will no trouble getting the Japanese vet down to the mat. Shimizu has decent conditioning, and he tends to start off slow, then accelerate his pace as the fight progresses. He will be entering this bout ready to go the distance against Kang, though he will prefer the finish, having finished 23 of his 28 mixed martial arts bout, 19 of them by submission, and four by T/KO. Fight Prediction: I think this fight, although against a tough veteran, is going to be Kang’s chance to really showcase his skills, both on the feet and on the mat. I think he will get the better of Shimizu, regardless of where the fight goes. Gabe’s Pick: Hyung Ho Kang by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Kang (-300) parlayed with Taisumov (-305) for -130 4.55u to win 3.5u
