UFC Japan predictions: Can Saint Preux make it two in a row?

Prior to UFC Fight Night 117 in Saitama, Japan on Friday, theScore's Themistoklis Alexis makes his picks for the evening's main card.

Light Heavyweight

Ovince Saint Preux (8-5 UFC, 20-10)
vs.
Yushin Okami (13-5 UFC, 34-10)

New opponent, same result.

Instead of former conquest Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, Saint Preux is tasked with Okami, who steps into his 205-pound debut on just six days' notice - not that the late adjustment changes how Friday's main event will go down. As the bigger, more athletic fighter of the two, the Haitian sensation shouldn't have any trouble staving off Okami's efforts to drag him to the canvas and blanket him - as he's done to many a man. Expect Saint Preux's deadly left kick to have Okami shooting for increasingly desperate takedowns he'll stuff before finishing him off by TKO.

THE PICK: Saint Preux

Strawweight

Claudia Gadelha (4-2 UFC, 15-2)
vs.
Jessica Andrade (7-4 UFC, 16-6)

Call her a two-round fighter if you will, but Gadelha isn't losing to any strawweight not named Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

Make no mistake, Andrade's heavy hands make her a threat to anyone at 115 pounds, but her fellow Brazilian matches her in strength and trumps her in technique on the mat. No longer plagued by the discrepancy in size she faced at bantamweight, Andrade won't be easy to put away, but Gadelha should feed her a steady diet of takedowns and smother her from a variety of dominant positions - if only for two of three rounds - for a W on points.

THE PICK: Gadelha

Lightweight

Takanori Gomi (4-8 UFC, 35-13)
vs.
"Maestro" Dong Hyun Kim (1-2 UFC, 14-8-3)

How the mighty have fallen.

Once touted as one of the world's preeminent lightweights, Gomi heads to his old Saitama stomping ground on a four-fight skid against the (comparatively) unheralded Kim. The power that starched foe after foe in Pride FC hasn't followed Gomi to the Octagon of late, which bodes well for the iron-chinned Kim's chances of wrestling his way to a decision.

Gomi's downward spiral rages on.

THE PICK: Kim

Light Heavyweight

Gokhan Saki (0-0 UFC, 0-1)
vs.
Henrique da Silva (2-3 UFC, 12-3)

As the saying goes, there are no tune-up fights in the UFC, but this is about as close as it gets.

That Saki has only competed in MMA once - in 2004 - is of no importance. The 33-year-old kickboxing ace has made a career of fighting and beating much bigger men, and with a dangerous, yet reckless da Silva sharing the cage with him at his ideal fighting weight of 205 pounds, expect Saki to batter the Brazilian with his patented left hook to the body in another violent performance - only in much smaller gloves.

THE PICK: Saki

Featherweight

Teruto Ishihara (2-2-1 UFC, 9-4-2)
vs.
Rolando Dy (0-1 UFC, 8-5-1)

Ishihara's success hinges on his counter left hand and not much else, but that should be enough for the W on Friday.

Assuming the fight stays upright, Dy lacks the output and the power to either overwhelm Ishihara, a la Artem Lobov, or put him away inside the distance. "Yashabo," on the other hand, needn't more than one counter left to meet Dy on the button to get his hand raised. If Ishihara can draw Dy into boxing range, the KO will soon follow.

THE PICK: Ishihara