Fight Fixin’ is a fantasy matchmaking article that comes out after every major event and features possible matchups for main card winners and/or losers from the previous event.
Roy Nelson
In the main event of UFC Fight Night 52, Roy Nelson was stopped for the first time in his UFC career after Mark Hunt landed an uppercut from hell right on the button in round two. Many fans and media were shocked that Nelson was knocked out, but at 38 years of age and after taking years of brutal punishment inside the Octagon, it’s not a total surprise that Nelson’s legendary chin eventually let him down, just as it did to other once iron-chinned fighters like Anderson Silva and Dan Henderson.
Nelson versus just about anyone in the division makes for an entertaining fight, but I think the fight that makes sense both from an entertainment point of view and from a rankings point of view is Nelson vs. Bigfoot Silva. I think this is a good fight between Hunt’s last two opponents -and one that would likely result in another highlight-reel Nelson KO, but after seeing him lose to Hunt in devastating fashion, who knows, maybe Silva could pull off the upset. Either way, it’s a fun fight (one that was originally slated for UFC 146) and I’d like to see it go down on the UFC on FOX 13 card this December in Phoenix.
Fight to make: Nelson vs. Bigfoot Silva
Takanori Gomi
In the co-main event, Takanori Gomi was stopped by strikes for the first time in his career by Myles Jury, who starched him in the first round with punches. Heading into the fight, Gomi had looked very solid, but this latest knockout loss proves he’s done as a top lightweight now, and he won’t be getting a top-10 opponent in his next outing, that’s for sure.
For his next fight, I’d like Gomi to face another striker, albeit not someone in the top 10, and I think a good matchup would be against Daron Cruickshank, who is coming off a loss to top-15-ranked Jorge Masvidal. I think Gomi vs. Cruickshank would be a hell of a scrap, and I think it’s a great main card bout for any of the upcoming Fight Night cards.
Fight to make: Gomi vs. Daron Cruickshank
Amir Sadollah
In a welterweight bout, Amir Sadollah was absolutely dominated by Yoshihiro Akiyama en route to a blowout decision loss. Sadollah showed some decent technical striking, but he just wasn’t able to stop the takedowns, and even on the feet he showed porous head strike defence, which cost him dearly, as he lost his second-straight to drop his UFC and pro MMA record to a poor 6-5.
For his next fight, if the UFC does give him one more inside the Octagon, Sadollah should fight Ildemar Alcantra. Alcantara, like Sadollah, is a talented mixed martial artist who battles inconsistencies and has poor takedown and striking defence. Both men are coming off of losses, and the loser of the fight would likely be purged from the roster, while the winner would stick around for a bit longer. It’s a fun little scrap and makes sense on an upcoming Brazil prelim card.
Fight to make: Sadollah vs. Ildemar Alcantara
Rin Nakai
In a women’s bantamweight fight, Rin Nakai couldn’t live up to the hype, as she was completely neutralized by Miesha Tate over the course of three rounds to lose a clear-cut unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards. Nakai showed absolutely no striking ability in the fight, and while she did look strong, she just doesn’t seem like a UFC-caliber fighter at this point.
Nakai clearly needs a step down in competition, and Jessica Rakoczy, who is 0-1 in the UFC as well, makes sense as her next opponent. It’s an interesting stylistic matchup between a grappler (Nakai) and a striker (Rakoczy) and based on their records it makes sense as well. So I say book it for the next UFC card in Asia, and hopefully for the UFC’s sake Nakai wins, because it’s clear they want to push her.
Fight to make: Nakai vs. Jessica Rakoczy
Richard Walsh
In a welterweight bout, Richard Walsh was absolutely robbed by the judges en route to a controversial split decision loss to Kiichi Kunimoto. Walsh rocked and dropped Kunimoto at multiple points during the fight and stopped the majority of his opponent’s takedown attempts, but somehow lost a split decision, one which no MMA media member at MMADecisions.com agreed with, the mark of a true ripoff.
For his next fight, the UFC should really treat Walsh as if he got the win over Kunimoto and thus match him up with another fighter coming off of a W. I say let him fight Claudio Silva, who is 1-0 in the UFC with a win over Brad Scott. Both Walsh and Silva are not really players at welterweight so I think the fact that neither is ranked (and the fact that both are fairly similar stylistically) makes for a decent preliminary card scrap, maybe on the next Australia card.
Fight to make: Walsh vs. Claudio Silva
Jon Delos Reyes
In the opening main card bout, Jon delos Reyes was knocked out in brutal fashion by Kyoji Horiguchi. Reyes was a huge underdog heading into the fight, and the betting public was proven to be correct after he was steamrolled in mere minutes, dropping his UFC record to 0-2 with two first-round stoppage losses.
For his next matchup, it makes sense for Reyes to fight someone else coming off of a loss to a top 15 fighter, and that would be Joby Sanchez, who was recently outpointed by Wilson Reis. I think Reyes vs. Sanchez would be an exciting fight between two standup fighters that would not go the distance, and it makes sense to throw it on a preliminary card on an upcoming Fight Night card.
Fight to make: Reyes vs. Joby Sanchez
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UFC Fight Night 52: Hunt vs. Nelson took place on September 20, 2014 at the Saitama Arena in Saitama, Japan.
Click the stars to rate how good you think UFC Fight Night 52 was.
