The UFC is pursuing Japanese talent once again, and the hope is
that Kinoshita can be one of the fighters to lead this most recent
charge. The 22-year-old is effectively undefeated, with his lone
loss coming via suspect disqualification, and he has proven to be a
standout athlete with some impressive finishing ability. However,
like a lot of Japanese fighters, he is plagued by being a bit
overly patient at times. Jose
Henrique Souza was not amazingly effective against the Pancrase
veteran on Dana White’s Contender Series in August but was probably
winning the fight based on aggression and volume—until Kinoshita
kicked off the third round with a brutal knockout. Kinoshita looks
for a smoother UFC debut against Fugitt, who put in a solid effort
while on prospect-testing duty in his first Octagon assignment in
July. Fugitt looked like a plodding pressure fighter without much
of a shot at the UFC prior to a breakout 2022 campaign. After over
a two-year layoff, Fugitt was in much better form in a 43-second
knockout win over Solomon
Renfro, then had his moments of effectiveness before losing to
Michael
Morales in that late-notice UFC debut. Fugitt is an awkward
fighter, but being big, aggressive and durable is a solid
combination of attributes to have, and it could wreak some havoc
against those patient stylings of Kinoshita. Still, the bet is that
Kinoshita can keep pace with that aggression and find a finish,
even if things could get gnarly if this goes all 15 minutes. The
pick is Kinoshita via second-round knockout.
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