Rinya Nakamura made his second walk to the fabled Octagon in 2025 this past weekend inside the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, NV. Nakamura was reeling from a defeat at the hands of Muin Gafurov (20-6 MMA, 2-2 UFC), an alumnus of ONE Championship, by way of unanimous decision after 15 minutes of action this past January at UFC 311 from Intuit Dome.
Nakamura was penciled in for an Aug. 2 fight on the UFC Vegas 108 prelims versus Nathan Fletcher (9-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) in the latter’s third UFC fight. Rinya Nakamura entered the card at UFC Vegas 108 with a record of 9-1 and 3-1 under the UFC promotional banner.
As is sometimes the case with fights in MMA, if you look away from the screen on your laptop or mobile device for just a single moment, you could very well miss the fight-ending sequence. If you didn’t get the chance to watch the Nakamura vs. Fletcher contest as it was streamed live over ESPN+ on Saturday evening, you’re going to want to watch it on playback when you have a moment during the new work week.
Rinya Nakamura Makes Quick Work of Nathan Fletcher Saturday Night
Right from the command to fight inside the UFC Apex facility, it was clear that in this contest, it was Rinya Nakamura’s world and we were all living in it. Nakamura landed a kick to Fletcher’s leg not long after the bout began, momentarily wobbling Nathan Fletcher.
Nakamura was quick on his feet for as long as the fight lasted, constantly moving to keep Fletcher guessing. About a minute into the first round of a scheduled three on Saturday evening, Rinya Nakamura connected on a crisp kick to Nathan Fletcher’s body to sit him down.
A flurry of vicious ground and pound shots were all that referee Kerry Hatley needed to see to call the contest in Nakamura’s favor. Time of the stoppage: One minute, six seconds into the first round of the contest.
Rinya Nakamura Talks to Bisping Post-Win
After the fight, Michael Bisping entered the fabled Octagon for a post-fight interview with the victorious Rinya Nakamura. During the interview, he talked about the kick to the body that spelled the end to his 10th professional win.
“I saw that his stomach is open a little bit, so I’m trying to just– just lifting my leg,” Nakamura said.
Also during Nakamura’s interview with Bisping, he said that he’d like to make another trip to the cage before the calendar flips over to 2026, while refusing to say that he had a specific adversary in mind for next time.
Rinya Nakamura Stunned by UFC Vegas 108 Finish
Upon meeting with the assembled media backstage at the Apex, Nakamura admitted that he was a little bit shocked as to how the fight went on Saturday night.
“I expected this fight to be more scramble game, more grappling game, so I prepared for it and it didn’t happened,” Rinya Nakamura told the media. “I feel kind of surprised.”
Saturday night’s win was Rinya Nakamura’s first UFC fight since changing training camps to American Top Team from LDH Martial Arts. He mentioned that the move came about as the result of soul-searching.
“I want to be a UFC champion to show my love and harmony,” he said. “That made me decide to move to Florida to train at American Top Team. I trained in one of the highest levels in the gym. I’m taking back my confidence and that showed tonight.”
Final Thoughts
In combat sports, how a fighter is able to respond to a defeat is crucial. Saturday’s fight at UFC Vegas 108 was Rinya Nakamura’s first since falling from the ranks of the unbeaten.
Nakamura passed his latest test with flying colors over the weekend. He put his defeat to Muin Gafurov behind him, doing so in violent fashion.
Sometimes throughout a career or a person’s life, a change in scenery is needed. With Rinya Nakamura moving to American Top Team ahead of UFC Vegas 108 on Saturday evening, could the change in scenery spark another sustained winning streak? Only time will tell.
