Josh Barnett outpoints Roy Nelson at UFC Fight Night 75

MANILA, Philippines – After nearly two years out of action, former heavyweight champion Josh Barnett returned to the Octagon with a convincing decision victory over Roy Nelson in the main event of UFC Fight Night 75 on Sunday, September 27 at the historic Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Barnett soundly defeated Nelson by controlling the 25-minute heavyweight contest and claiming a unanimous decision with the scores of 50-45, 48-47 and 48-47 across the panel.

It was a homecoming of sorts for Barnett, who has fought 17 of his professional matches in Japan and had not fought in “Land of the Rising Sun” since March 2010.

Although he was unable to author a stoppage win, Barnett utilized every option in his arsenal from uppercuts, hooks to the body and foot stomps to damaging knees and standing elbows.

Damage being done by @JoshLBarnett! #UFCJapan http://t.co/X5UQFnZbvE

— UFC (@ufc) September 27, 2015

“The clinch work wasn’t good enough. Nothing I did in here was good enough tonight, but it’s a good starting point. We wanted to give you a finish. Roy Nelson is a champ. It’s not about belts. It’s about the way people fight. Roy Nelson fights like he means it. He’s a f—ing warrior. He’s the kind of people we need in the UFC. That’s what people want to see,” Barnett stated in the post-fight interview.

According to FightMetric statistics, Barnet landed 212 blows as compared to Nelson’s 101-strike output.

Known for his overhand right, Nelson switched it up a little in his meeting against Barnett by delivering a surprising head kick in the second round and going for takedowns in the first, fourth and fifth rounds.

However, Nelson was unable to consolidate with either meaningful ground-and-pound or aggressive submission attempts as Barnett kept on returning to his feet and methodically drained the reserves from Nelson’s already-suspected gas tank.

Barnett terrorized Nelson’s midsection with knees to the body and caused swelling and bruising on the left side of his face with right elbows.

“That’s why I wanted to fight Roy. I gave Roy everything I had. He took it and came back. Roy is the man,” Barnett said of Nelson.

With the impressive victory over Nelson, Barnett improves his prizefighting record to 34-7 and reinserts his name to the winner’s column.

On the other hand, Nelson downgrades to a 20-12 standing and is now suffering from a two-fight losing skid.

In other matches, Uriah Hall (12-5) scored an upset triumph over Gegard Mousasi (37-6-2) by knocking out the former two-division world champion.

Hall uncorked a picturesque jumping spinning back kick early in round two and the hammered a flying knee that kept Mousasi on wobbly legs.

“The Ultimate Fighter” alumnus continued to unload with strikes to compel the referee to jump in and call a halt to the bout at the 0:25 mark of the second round.

It marked the first time in Mousasi’s illustrious 45-fight career that he had been finished by strikes.

Meanwhile,  “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 14 winner Diego Brandao (24-10) finished  Katsunori Kikuno (22-8-2) in just 28 seconds of their scheduled three-round featherweight scrap.

We see you @DiegoBrandaoMMA! #UFCJapan pic.twitter.com/4HGTXOLUdq

— UFC (@ufc) September 27, 2015

Brando dropped Kikuno with an overhand right during their initial exchange and swarmed with punches on the mat.

The Japanese veteran briefly returned to his feet before being tossed back to the ground, prompting Brandao to rain down with right hands for the stoppage. – Rappler.com