The octagon returned to Japan early on Saturday morning with Ovince Saint Preux victorious in the main event with only the fifth Von Flue choke submission in UFC history. The former light heavyweight challenger took his personal tally to three of the specialist submission victories in the promotion.
Saint Preux was a huge favourite heading into his bout with Yushin Okami and it only took just under two minutes for the American to upset the Japanese crowd. Saint Preux was due to face Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua before the Brazilian had to pull out.
The move from welterweight to light heavyweight proved to be a step too far for Japan’s Okami whilst Saint Preux will look to move into the top five in the light heavyweight division. Interestingly, it became just the second fight in UFC history to feature zero significant strike attempts (H/T @MJCflipdascript)
Claudia Gadelha and Jessica Andrade went to war in the co-main event with Andrade coming out victorious on the judges’ scorecards. Both Brazilian strawweights were looking to stay at the pinnacle of the division, having both come short against divisional queen Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
Andrade’s superior striking as well as her wrestling secured the victory, with Gadelha having no answer to her compatriot’s barrage of strikes and multiple takedowns. The bout earned the ‘fight of the night’ bonus, earning both ladies $50,000.
Dong Hyun Kim upset the crowd with a first round knockout of Japanese legend Takanori Gomi. Kim improves to 2-2 inside the octagon whilst Gomi slides to five consecutive first round losses.
At thirty-nine it might be the end of Gomi’s career. A legend in the Pride era, it struggled to transfer into the octagon with his UFC record standing at 4-9.
Kickboxing legend Gokhan Saki earned a first-round knockout victory over Henrique da Silva on his return to MMA thirteen years after his unsuccessful debut. The kickboxing sensation looked in trouble against the cage before throwing a left hand that sent his Brazilian opponent to the canvas.
With a multi-fight deal penned, and a first ‘performance of the night’ bonus in hand, it will be interesting to see just how far Saki can go in the octagon.
Teruto Ishihara earned a unanimous decision victory in a close fight with Rolando Dy. The Japanese featherweight’s takedowns could be seen as a deciding factor in the fight as he returns to winning ways in his home nation.
Jussier Formiga strengthened his credentials to be the next in line at flyweight with first round submission victory over Yuta Sasaki.
The Brazilian is one of the few men in the division to have not faced Demetrious Johnson and when he sank in the rear-naked choke, Sasaki had no option but to tap just before the conclusion of the first round.
Keita Nakamura outpointed Alex Morono after their welterweight bout went the distance whilst Syuri Kondo also earned the judges’ approval against Chan Mi Jeon.
The judges were also required for the opening two bouts of the evening with Japanese welterweights Shinsho Anzai and Daichi Abe earning decision victories over Luke Jumeau and Hyun Gyu Lim.
The octagon returns in two weeks with Tony Ferguson taking on Kevin Lee at UFC 216 in Las Vegas.
