LAS VEGAS – Rinya Nakamura locked up his “Road to the UFC” bantamweight tournament win with a brutal one-punch knockout of Toshiomi Kazama at UFC Fight Night 218.
After going through the eight-man tournament field in 2022, Nakamura (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) closed out his run in spectacular fashion with a 33-second finish of Kazama (10-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at the UFC Apex.
Nakamura hurt Kazama early in the fight, then he didn’t let up, He put on major aggression until he landed a huge left hook to the chin to close the show and earn a UFC contract.
Check out the replay of Nakamura’s knockout below (via Twitter):
OUT. COLD.
Rinya Nakamura is your #RoadToUFC bantamweight winner! #UFCVegas68 pic.twitter.com/6ULxnIOaxi
— UFC (@ufc) February 5, 2023
Nakamura’s 33-second finish marked the second-fastest debut of any featherweight in UFC history. He is proud to join the promotion and represent his native Japan.
“I’ve been dreaming of fighting in this cage for a long time, such a long time,” Nakamura said in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “Like 15 years. This is very important. I want to spread how Japanese are good, fighters are good.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 218.
