UFC Fight Night Japan Results (9/27): Josh Barnett Puts Over Pro Wrestling, Huge Upset, Roy Nelson
"Pro Wrestling is indeed strong," Josh Barnett said. It appears so, although it wasn't the Josh Barnett we've been used to seeing.
A much slimmer Barnett, down 26 pounds since his 2013 fight against Travis Browne, defeated Roy Nelson, in a fight much more dominant than the 48-47, 48-47 scorecards (which complimented the lone 50-45) would say. Still, from a technical aspect Nelson's game looked the best it ever have. Unfortunately for him, the big right hand couldn't get the job done.
Nelson was able to secure several takedowns on the decorated catch-as-catch can wrestler Barnett, but wasn't able to do anything with the takedowns. Barnett used the typical blueprint to beat Roy Nelson, which is landing strikes at range, pressing Nelson against the cage, and not giving him room to unload big punches. This process repeated for five rounds, with the occasional shift in momentum and Nelson takedown.
Josh Barnett's 95 significant strikes from the clinch in a single fight are a new UFC record. Also, his 146 significant strikes landed are a new heavyweight record for a single fight. Roy Nelson moves to an unfortunate 0-8 against top 10 fighters in his UFC career.
See Also: Josh Barnett Talks Possibly Going To WWE Or TNA, Ronda Rousey, Fedor's Return, UFC, More
Late replacement Uriah Hall channeled his Ultimate Fighter fame by dropping highly favored (-381 to Hall's +435) Gegard Mousasi to the mat with a spinning back kick. Hall followed up and finished the fight, giving him his fifth win in his last six fights. Hall was heavily hyped coming out of TUF, but his inconsistent performance held him back.
Elsewhere on the card, former Flyweight Title challenger Kyoji Horiguchi defeated Chico Camus in a dominant battle, while top-10 bantamweight Takeya Mizugaki also scored a win over George Roop.
You can see full UFC Fight Night 75 Japan results below. Also, don't forget Wrestling Inc will have full, live coverage of UFC 192: Cormier vs. Gustafsson next Saturday night!
Main Card
* Josh Barnett (#8) def. Roy Nelson (#11) via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 50-45)
* Uriah Hall def. Gegard Mousasi (#6) via second-round TKO (0:25)
* Kyoji Horiguchi (#7) def. Chico Camus (#13) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
* Takeya Mizugaki (#8) def. George Roop via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
* Diego Brandao def. Katsunori Kikuno via first-round TKO (0:28)
* Mizuto Hirota vs. Teruto Ishihara ruled a draw (29-28, 28-29, 29-29)
Undercard
* Keita Nakamura def. Li Jingliang via technical submission at 2:17 of R3
* Nick Hein def. Yusuke Kasuya via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
* Kajan Johnson def.Naoyuki Kotani via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
* Shinsho Anzai def. Roger Zapata via third-round TKO (0:47)