Ask your average MMA fight fan who Tyson Nam is and you’ll probably get a response, “isn’t that the guy that beat Bellator Featherweight Champion Eduardo Dantas on that show in Brazil?” Indeed it is, and now Nam is back to prove he’s more than just a one trick pony.
The Hawaii born, Portland, Oregon based fighter took on a recognizable name in Dantas when he traveled to Brazil to fight the champion on his own soil. Having an 11-4 record coming into the Shooto Brazil 33 event many believed that they were feeding Nam to the wolves, including Nam himself.
“In my mind I thought I was being brought over to be on Eduardo’s highlight reel, but that didn’t work out so well for them.”
Following the biggest victory of his career, Nam received numerous offers, including one from the UFC. However, ultimately he figured he needed to choose the promotion that would feed him the best, and settled on World Series of Fighting.
“With the way things were going, the World Series of Fighting had the highest penny on top of my head. There were a few offers after coming back from Brazil and with Bellator’s contract they had a matching right clause which was pretty much the highest bidder would get me signed with them and I really appreciate the World Series of Fighting for getting me out of that predicament, because I wanted to move on with my career. They were able to sign me because they were the highest bidder and I’m just happy that I’m debuting for the World Series of Fighting this Saturday.”
Many young fighters have the ultimate goal of ending up in the UFC. Nam doesn’t think about that at the moment, at this point in his career he feels WSOF has plenty of talent and will be able to keep him as active as he needs to be.
“As far as my career goes I just want to fight and I’m really happy with the World Series of Fighting and even with the World Series of Fighting they are picking up on some really good talent. They might be the next biggest thing, so just make sure you guys keep watching on NBC Sports.”
At WSOF 2, Nam will take on the very dangerous Marlon Moraes. In Moraes’ last fight he defeated the former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres and Nam was in attendance. In fact, Nam was brought into the cage to face-off with Moraes following his victory. Unfortunately for the two fighters, cameras didn’t catch it, but it’s a good thing Nam enjoys Vegas.
“I always enjoy Vegas. I didn’t think it was a waste of time at all, but I wish I had a little bit more airtime. I even bought myself a shiny silver suit to make it out to the event and I remember Marlon even complimented me on it. He said, ‘nice suit’ and I was like ‘thank you’ so I really wish they showed more than just the back of my head that night.”
Moraes trains with some of the best in the world at and will be a difficult challenge for Nam. Every fighter has holes in their games, but Nam can’t seem to find any in Moraes’.
“I keep on watching video and I was out there in Vegas watching those guys throw down and I don’t really see any holes in his game. He’s a Muay Thai champion, he’s a brown or black belt in jiu-jitsu; he’s been probably doing this for three quarters of his life. There aren’t many holes, so I just have to pick and choose my spots I’m thinking.”
If Nam beats Moraes, he will look to take on another top contender. But as for now Moraes is that guy to beat and he will not be looking ahead.
“I’m always thinking in my mind that my next opponent is the best guy I will be facing. Especially after a performance like Brazil, I don’t expect another slower, easy opponent for the rest of my career.”
