Top Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight prospect Rinya Nakamura delivered his first UFC finish, stopping Nathan Fletcher with a vicious body kick and ground-and-pound at UFC Vegas 108 on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025, inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
All eyes were on Nakamura to see how he’d recover from his first professional loss earlier this year at UFC 311. The multi-time Japanese wrestling champion and a massive -600 betting favorite, abandoned his wrestling againstMuin Gafurov, got outstruck, and dropped a unanimous decision.
The unexpected defeat left fans and analysts puzzled for seven months. Did he injure his knee in training? Did he overestimate his striking, channeling a former Welterweight champion’s “Canelo hands”?
Well, now we know the real reason … the ‘boo birds.’
“Actually, at UFC 298, I used a lot of wrestling and ground top control, but the audience booed me,” Nakamura told MMAMania.com during his post-fight interview. “That was kind of shocking, so I thought, ‘I need to change my style.’ I was too focused on knocking out my opponent. That’s why I didn’t perform well in my last fight….Yes [I wanted to be more exciting], but it didn’t work well.”
Determined to reclaim his momentum, Nakamura relocated from Japan to Florida to join the legendary American Top Team and got some key advice. “Mike Brown and many ATT coaches told me I have to do more wrestling — to wrestle, faint, and then my striking will work. I was working on that,” Nakamura said.
The strategy paid off at UFC Vegas 108. While he didn’t wrestle, Nakamura used takedown feints to set up the devastating liver kick that secured his knockout win.
Still, the Japanese fighter admitted to pre-fight nerves, fearing a two-fight skid.
“I felt nervous because I didn’t want to make a two-fight losing streak because that would have done big damage to my career,” Nakamura concluded. “But my corner, Kyoji Horiguchisaw that my face was nervous and said, ‘Don’t feel nervous! Have fun, have fun!’ It was strong, and he removed my nervousness to the outside.”
For complete UFC Vegas 108 results and play-by-play, click here.
