Breakthroughs: UFC in Japan edition

Brad Tavares, left, has now won three in a row.

E. Spencer Kyte March 4, 2013, 3:18 PM

Saturday’s UFC event at the Saitama Super Arena featured some strong performances, close fights, and curious decisions. Here’s a look back at the fighters who really stepped into the spotlight over the weekend. 
Mark Hunt 
Up until now, I kind of view this whole “Rally for Mark Hunt” situation as a novelty act, but there might really be something to it, as the “Super Samoan” halted Stefan Struve’s four-fight winning streak (and broke his jaw) with a thunderous left hand early in the third round to push his own winning streak to four. 
With the heavyweight division currently in a state of flux, Hunt is now a legitimate threat in the top 10, which is something I never expected to say of a guy who was once submitted in quick fashion by Sean McCorkle. His uncanny ability to take whatever punishment his opponents dish out combined with the unquestioned power he possesses makes him a dangerous match-up for anyone in the division going forward. 
Do I think he’s going to keep this momentum going and become the most unexpected UFC champion this side of Matt Serra? Probably not, but I wouldn’t mind seeing him get a shot with another win or two to be honest. 
Dong Hyun Kim 
After his win over Paulo Thiago at UFC Macao in November, I wrote that he continues to show improvement each time out and should find himself opposite a top-15 opponent next time. 
Well, he didn’t get a top-15 opponent, but he still crashed through Siyar Bahadurzada with another dominant grappling performance, once again showing that he is a force on the ground in the welterweight division. He continues to fly under the radar a bit, but hopefully not much longer. 
While not much of a finisher, Kim profiles a welterweight version of Yushin Okami, and “Thunder” was able to work his way into a middleweight title shot without many finishes. The South Korean is still a ways off, but he’s certainly trending upwards at this point. 
Brad Tavares 
The talented 25-year-old Hawaiian earned his third straight victory — and fifth in six UFC appearances — on Saturday night, collecting a unanimous-decision win over durable veteran Riki Fukuda. 
A former contestant on The Ultimate Fighter (Season 11), Tavares has shown steady improvement under the tutelage of Ray Sefo at Xtreme Couture. While he was a solid striker coming off the long-running reality competition, Sefo has helped tighten up his approach, making Tavares a more accurate and precise stand-up fighter in the process. 
What really caught my eye in this fight, however, was how well Tavares shrugged off Fukuda as he tried to work from the clinch. Aaron Simpson was able to shut Tavares down along the cage in his only career loss to date, but Fukuda had no such luck on Saturday. If he can keep improving his clinch game and takedown defence, Tavares could continue his steady climb up the middleweight ladder. 
Takeya Mizugaki 
Mizugaki makes this list as much for his efforts against Bryan Caraway as he does for simply being the victorious fighter in one of the most discussed contests from Saturday night. 
The former WEC bantamweight title challenger one again showed that he’s a tough out in the middle of the 135-pound weight class, mixing his grinding grappling skills with solid hands to finally earn consecutive wins in the UFC. He broke down into tears after being announced as the winner, proud to have collected a UFC win at home. It was as genuine and heartfelt a moment as we’ve seen in the cage in some time. 
Mizugaki also comes away from this contest with a few more mentions because Caraway received some of the worst advice ever from his girlfriend Miesha Tate between the second and third rounds. The former Strikeforce women’s champion suggested they were up 2-0, and told Caraway he could “coast” in the third. Twitter took it and ran, Caraway coasted, and Mizugaki got the win. 
Cue the sad trombone. 
Hyun Gyu Lim 
Prior to the exhilarating knockouts that ended the night, Lim was the only fighter on the card to collect a finish, which automatically puts him on the Breakthroughs list. 
The Korean Top Team member easily stuffed the early takedown attempts of Marcelo Guimaraes, forcing the Brazilian out of his comfort zone, and into a striking battle. Throughout the contest, Lim looked to land with a stepping knee every time Guimaraes closed the distance, and late in the second round, the Brazilian dipped, and Lim connected with a powerful knee that ended the contest. 
Lim is a huge welterweight — he’s 6-foot-2 with a crazy 79-inch reach — but appeared to fade early in his UFC debut. Provided he’s able to correct that going forward, “The Ace” has the potential to be a solid addition to the deep 170-pound ranks.