After a three week hiatus, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned to the forefront of the mixed martial arts (MMA) world with a spectacular Saturday (September 26, 2015) showcase of UFC Fight Night 75, live on FOX Sports 1 from inside the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
Josh Barnett and Roy Nelson went to war for 25 minutes in the main event of the evening, keeping up an incredible pace and putting on a show for the Japanese fans in attendance (highlights here). In the end, Barnett's savage clinch-work and unrelenting pressure earned him the unanimous decision victory.
In the co-main event, Uriah Hall pulled off the upset of the year, becoming the first man to finish Gegard Mousasi via strikes. After a tough first round that saw Hall get dominated on the mat, "Primetime" unleashed a vicious spinning back kick followed by a flying knee to earn the knockout victory.
Check out the highlights here.
With that quick overview of the night's marquee bouts, here are your biggest winners, as well as the runners-up from Japan.
Biggest Winner: Uriah Hall
Finally!
Uriah Hall has arrived, and everyone in UFC's Middleweight division better take notice.
After "Primetime's" legendary spinning heel kick knockout against Adam Cella on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) over two years ago, fight fans had otherworldly expectations for the Jamaican as he was set to debut inside the Octagon.
Whether it was the pressure that got to him, or he simply needed more experience, Hall faltered many a times in his first six UFC appearances, including decision losses to John Howard and Rafael Natal.
It seemed at times that Hall was fighting down to his competition, instead of sending a message to the 185-pound elite.
Well that all changed in Japan.
"Primetime" shined bright when UFC brass presented him with his biggest opportunity to date, a fight against the revered Gegard Mousasi on short notice.
After getting dominated in the grappling department in the first round, Hall stormed out of the gates in the second, launching a Mortal Kombat-esque combination at his Dutch foe.
A perfectly timed spinning back kick landed on Mousasi's chin as he ducked under for a takedown, and a ridiculous flying knee moments later had "The Dreamcatcher" in all sorts of trouble. After a series of follow-up shots, the referee called a stop to the onslaught.
What a moment.
Hall's victory will not soon be forgotten, as the knockout will likely be played on highlight reels for years to come.
Expect the TUF runner-up to skyrocket up the rankings, and welcome yet another beast into the Middleweight division's elite.
Runners-up:
Josh Barnett
Ring rust has nothing on "The Warmaster."
Stepping into the Octagon for the first time in nearly two years, Josh Barnett put a grueling pace on Roy Nelson in a five round war that saw him come out the unanimous decision victor in Japan.
Barnett landed a whopping 146 significant strikes in the fight, employing all eight limbs and every legal blow in the process.
Barnett did most of his work in the clinch, savagely working Nelson's belly and chin with a barrage of knees, punches, and elbows.
A handful of opponents would marvel at Nelson's iron chin, but Barnett opted to continue feeding "Big Country" with strikes for 25 minutes.
When his takedown defense failed him, his savvy catch wrestling background helped him fight back to his feet, where he would continue to use forward pressure to win the fight.
Barnett's performance was certainly impressive, but the 37-year old is undoubtedly fighting against father time. If the former UFC Heavyweight champ wants one more crack at the belt before hanging up his gloves for good, he can't afford to wait around another 21 months before stepping back into the Octagon.
Currently sitting at No. 6 in the UFC rankings (see them here) -- and most likely moving up following his win in Japan -- Barnett could very well be one victory away from an unlikely UFC title shot.
Diego Brandao
If you earn a 28 second knockout, you deserve to be a part of the "Biggest Winners" of the night.
While not as impressive as Uriah Hall's unbelievable upset, Brandao's vicious knockout over Katsunori Kikuno in Japan reminded fight fans just how dangerous "DB" can be inside the Octagon.
In similar fashion to Hall, Brandao's savage knockouts during his TUF 14 campaign had many believing he would be an immediate contender at Featherweight back in 2011, but his Octagon career up to UFC Fight Night 75 had been utterly disappointing.
Even though Brandao earned a (technical) knockout victory over Jimy Hettes his last time out due to a cut, the Brazilian had yet to actually finish anyone on the feet in spectacular fashion like so many had expected from him early on.
At 28-years old, and coming off his biggest win to date, maybe Brandao can gather confidence and put together a nice run in the stacked Featherweight division.
Biggest Loser: Katsunori Kikuno
You would think after getting knocked out in two of his last three fights Katsunori Kikuno would at least change his defense even slightly.
Nope.
The Japanese native once again graced the Octagon with his awkward and open stance, and it took Diego Brandao about two punches before landing a perfectly placed bomb on Kikuno's chin.
It is almost unfathomable that Kikuno has not been knocked out more in his career due to his porous defense, but maybe father time has pilfered his ability to take a punch.
While most fighters are cut after three straight losses, I could certainly see UFC brass cutting ties with Kikuno after two vicious knockout losses in a row.
Runners-up:
Roy Nelson
Only by default is Roy Nelson's name in the "Biggest Loser" category.
Even though "Big Country" lost a unanimous decision to Josh Barnett, Nelson must be given credit for taking an ungodly amount of punishment from "The Warmaster" during their five round main event battle.
Nelson's ability to take punishment is almost superhuman, and to withstand said punishment over 25 minutes after never fighting in a fourth round in 32 past fights? Miraculous.
Sure Nelson was tired, but he fired off plenty of his own haymakers during the war of attrition; The TUF 10 winner even threw a head kick that rocked Barnett!
In the end, the loss was Nelson's third in a row via unanimous decision, and his fifth loss in his last six bouts.
While I highly doubt UFC brass would cut the heavy handed Heavyweight, we all know Dana White is not all that fond of the brash big man.
With the current state of the Heavyweight division, "Big Country's" job is not in jeopardy just yet, but his back is definitely against the wall to earn a big victory his next time out.
Maybe a small step down in competition is what Nelson needs to thrive once again.
Mizuto Hirota vs. Teruto Ishihara Ending As A Draw
A draw? Really?
There has literally been one acceptable draw in MMA history, and that was following the epic battle between Mark Hunt and Antonio Silva back in 2013. And even that was changed to a No Contest a few months later.
Mizuto Hirota and Teruto Ishihara put on a show on the FOX Sports 1 main card, battling it out for 15 minutes in a wildly entertaining affair that had the Japanese crowd in attendance on their feet. Unfortunately, the puzzling draw sapped the air from the Saitama Super Arena in swift fashion.
Hirota and Ishihara were finalists of UFCs 'Road to Japan' Featherweight tournament, so a fourth round was meant to occur to determine the winner of the six-figure UFC contract. But of course, that never happened.
It was essentially Demetrious Johnson vs. Ian McCall all over again!
UFC brass ultimately decided to give both fighters contracts to relieve the debacle, and both Hirota and Teruto happily traveled to the hospital together, living to fight another day inside the Octagon.
For complete UFC Fight Night 75: "Barnett vs. Nelson" results, including play-by-play updates, click here.