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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Mike Bohn

Toshiomi Kazama was ‘walking a dark cave’ prior to career-saving UFC on ESPN 61 comeback win

LAS VEGAS – Toshiomi Kazama knew he needed to win at UFC on ESPN 61 to save his future with the promotion, and he did just that with a Performance of the Night comeback win.

Just when it looked like Kazama (11-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) was on the cusp of a third consecutive defeat to begin his octagon tenure against Charalampos Grigoriou (8-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC) on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, he staged a thrilling comeback to finish the fight by triangle choke in the second round of the bantamweight bout.

For Kazama, the joy of victory is overshadowed by the evaporation of stress, knowing that if he had lost, this could’ve been his final UFC fight.

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