Greetings, fight fans! Thanks for joining us for UFC Fight Night 75 or Fight Night Japan, if you don’t care for numerical descriptors. The fights kick off at 8 PM ET on Fox Sports 2, with the main card starting at 10 PM ET on Fox Sports 1. There are some solid bouts, so let’s dive into the predictions, and stick around here for the live discussion!
Important Standings of Note:
Jessica: 479-335-4 (59%)
Burnsy: 484-305-5 (61%)
Vince: 228-148-2 (61%)
Ryan: 10-5-1 (66%)
Danny: 161-77-1 (67%)
Spilled: 81-60-2 (57%)
Sydnie: 16-12 (57%)
Chris: 44-15-2 (74%)
NY Ric: 36-26-1 (57%)
Ghost: 6-7 (46%)
Seth: 32-15 (68%)
Biss: 41-39-1 (51%)
Jared: 96-54-1 (64%)
Melanie: 44-23 (66%)
Fake Mike Goldberg: 21-16 (57%)
Welterweight – Shinsho “Animal” Anzai vs Roger “Viva” Zapata
Jessica: Ugh, I don’t even know. I guess I’ll take Anzai since I like his nickname better. Animal takes a decision.
Burnsy: Normally, I’d give this one to Anzai for simply having UFC experience, since Zapata is wet behind the ears, to the point that we don’t even know how old he is (my guess is 6 or 13). However, Viva Zapata is such a fantastic nickname that I’ll give him the nod just out of respect.
Lightweight – Naoyuki Kotani vs “Ragin” Kajan Johnson
Jessica: I probably said it for his last bout, but I’m taking Kotani because he’s got extensive ZST experience. Kotani wins with a third round TKO.
Burnsy: Pink slip fight for Kotani, loser of his last two fights. I’d love to give him the win in front of his home country, but the dude has fought like a billion times. Johnson isn’t exactly a rookie, but he has some tread on his tires still, and that gives him the edge.
Lightweight – Nick “Sergeant” Hein vs Yusuke Kasuya
Jessica: I think Kasuya will swarm Hein on the ground and get a first round submission. Just like a Sergeant to fall to taps, though.
Burnsy: I like Hein a lot, but I have to respect the home crowd at some point, and I like the fiery 25-year-old Kasuya making his UFC debut to upset the Sergeant.
Welterweight – Keita “K-Taro” Nakamura vs Li “The Leech” Jingliang
Jessica: Nakamura had a UFC run that ended with him going 0-3 and cut in 2008. Since then, he’s gone 13-2. I figure he’s due to finally get that first win in the World Famous Octagon. Nakamura takes a decision.
Burnsy: Li has been an underrated addition to the UFC since making his debut in May 2014. He’s 2-1 in his young career and I could still argue that his split loss against Nordine Taleb was a toss-up (but I’d have to go back and rewatch it first because I barely remember it). What I do remember is Li’s first round KO of Dhiego Lima, and I like what this guy is bringing to the octagon. Li takes his record to 3-1 tonight.
Featherweight – Mizuto “Pugness” Hirota vs Teruto “Yashabo” Ishihara
Jessica: I have watched 0 seconds of UFC’s Road to Japan series, but I have read at least three tweets from Shiroobi about the show. With that kind of deep knowledge available, I am predicting a star-making performance and second round TKO victory for Mizuto “PUGNESS” Hirota because, c’mon, dude has a pug tattooed on his arm. PUG POWER 4 LYFE.
Burnsy: I hate making the same picks as Jessica for the same exact reasons, but pug tats, bro. PUG TATS.
Featherweight – Katsunori Kikuno vs Diego “DB” Brandao
Jessica: On the surface, this seems like very cruel punishment to Kikuno, since Brandao hits really hard and has solid grappling. On the flip side, Diego’s a little chinny, too. I’m taking Kikuno to win with a second round TKO via crescent kick.
Burnsy: I feel bad for Kikuno because Brandao rebounded nicely with a win over Jim Hettes after having to face (and lose to) Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor in a span of six months. Brandao might not put Kikuno down in the first round, but he’ll dominate all the same.
Bantamweight – Takeya Mizugaki vs George Roop
Jessica: Raise your hands if you had completely forgotten about Roop’s existence before seeing his name on the card here. Mizugaki is on a losing streak, which won’t last long. Takeya beat Cisco Rivera, who beat Roop. Plus, Mizugaki’s last loss, to Aljamain Sterling, is a better look than Roop’s loss to Rob Font. Mizugaki wins with a decision.
Burnsy: Roop is basically the generic video game fighter. He’s never won against a big name and he was knocked out by a game named Rob Font in his last fight. Roop’s new nickname should be Comic Sans. I don’t think this fight will be any good, but Mizugaki will take one for the home crowd.
Flyweight – Kyoji Horiguchi vs Chico “The King” Camus
Jessica: Horiguchi took Mighty Mouse to 99.93% of the limit, you guys! Camus’ best win is against old-ass Brad Pickett. Horiguchi is going to put Camus to sleep in the first.
Burnsy: Chico Camus has a great name that is fun to say, but he’s nothing special in the octagon. This is a perfect rebound fight for Horiguchi and he’ll probably put on a fun show for us.
Middleweight – Gegard “The Dreamcatcher” Mousasi vs Uriah “Primetime” Hall
Jessica: Mousasi is a slow starter and Hall is a non-starter, so this should be very tepid kickboxing until the third round. At that point, Gegard will wake up, realize his opponent is too scared to throw a jab, and then punch the holy heckums out of Hall. Mousasi by third round KO.
Burnsy: I don’t want to ever pick Hall, because I don’t think he’s a good fighter (yet) and most of his wins seem to come by luck or just good fortune. So I’m picking him here because, while I think Mousasi is a better fighter, something will happen that will give this to Hall, like maybe a light will fall on Mousasi’s head and Hall will manage to catch him on the jaw with a kick to score the TKO.
Heavyweight – Josh “The Warmaster” Barnett vs Roy “Big Country” Nelson
Jessica: Roy’s got big power and allegedly a good ground game, though I can’t remember him grappling with anyone since his fights on TUF. Barnett has proven his grappling chops, and he’s got good-ish striking. Nelson’s probably too tough to get sparked out, but maybe Josh will get some extra FIGHTING SPIRIT since he’s in Japan. I think that thanks to his recent wins in Metamoris, Barnett will get the fight to the ground, keep excruciating pressure on Nelson, and wear Roy down until the tap comes. Barnett wins by submission in the 4th round.
Burnsy: My favorite part of this fight has been the promotions on regional Fox Sports baseball broadcasts that I watch on MLB.tv, because it’s hilarious hearing baseball commentators with zero UFC knowledge try to sell this fight, when it’s clear they know nothing about it. Even better, Tyron Woodley tossed out the first pitch at a Cardinals game the other day, and the TV team had no clue who he was. While I give them credit for interviewing him and getting to know him, when they called him a “good communicator” the sounds of Chris Rock’s voice screaming, “HE SPEAKS SO WELL!” echoing through my head almost caused my brain to implode. Anywho, I really can’t believe this is a main event fight. Especially over guys like Hall and Horiguchi. This won’t go 5. It can’t go 5. And if it somehow goes 5, it will be horrendous and dull beyond all expectations. That said, Barnett last fought in the UFC in 2013 and lost to Travis Browne, who is probably my least favorite fighter/person in the world right now, and I still like to believe that Roy Nelson can rise to the occasion of not getting fired for losing three in a row (even though he could lose 5 in a row and still fight in the UFC because the heavyweight division is that bad) so I’ll give this one to Big Country.
Performance of the Night
Jessica: Horiguchi, Kasuya
Burnsy: Brandao, Horiguchi
Fight of the Night
Jessica: Barnett vs Nelson
Burnsy: Mousasi vs Hall