The event airs this Sunday March 3 from from the Saitama Super Arena.
Welterweight: Marcelo Guimaraes vs. Hyun Gyu Lim
After six straight wins for Jungle Fight, Marcelo Guimaraes made his presence felt in the UFC over the summer with a split-decision victory. That fight kept his perfect record of eight wins intact and was his first welterweight fight. Hyun Gyu Lim will enter the Octagon for the first time and comes in off his biggest win to date, when he took the PXC welterweight championship. Lim is known for making quick work of his opponents, ending his last five fights in the opening round.
Bantamweight: Alex Caceres vs. Kyung Ho Kang
After a shaky start as featherweight, which saw Alex Caceres drop two submissions, he has found better success as a bantamweight. He is now 3-1 with a Submission of the Night honor to his name. The one bantamweight loss came via split-decision after being deducted two points for groin shots. Kyung Ho Kang looks to keep the momentum going after he scooped up the inaugural Road FC bantamweight championship over the summer. He took three submissions to land where he’s at now.
Lightweight: Cristiano Marcello vs. Kazuki Tokudome
Cristiano Marcello made it into the house during The Ultimate Fighter: Live and was selected as the fourth overall pick. He didn’t get pass the opening round to the number one seed. He’s since gone 1-1 for the UFC, barely taking a split-decision when the promotion visited Brazil in October. Kazuki Tokudome will be making his first showing for the UFC after a pair of wins out of Pancrase last year. He enters the Octagon at 11-3, with almost all of his eight stoppages coming in the first round.
Bantamweight: Takeya Mizugaki vs. Bryan Caraway
Since 2009, Takeya Mizugaki has been with the WEC and UFC. He’s traded wins and losses, as he sits at 5-5 under those two promotions. He is yet to mount any kind of win streak as he comes in with a decision from the UFC’s debut in China. Bryan Caraway made it into The Ultimate Fighter house, before he was knocked out cold in the semifinals. He’s since regrouped with two wins. In his last fight, he entered as bantamweight and left with Fight of the Night.
Middleweight: Riki Fukuda vs. Brad Tavares
The final preliminary fight sees Riki Fukuda return inside the Octagon for the fourth time in just over a year. He is 2-2, with each of those fights ending in a decision. It will be his second time fighting in front of a Japanese audience under the UFC banner. With five UFC fights to his name, Brad Tavares returns to action after taking a split-decision in September. His only finish was against Phil Baroni at UFC 125. The American took a pair of wins last year.
Props: Fightline.com
