Outside Source
Nakamura (10-1) folded Nathan Fletcher with a body kick in the first round at UFC Vegas 108 to bounce back from his first career defeat. After his victory, “Hybrid” revealed what contributed to his deflating loss to Muin Gafurov in January. While the 2017 U23 World Wrestling Champion Nakamura has been grappling for over two decades, the then-unbeaten athlete chose not to grapple with Gafurov en route to a unanimous decision defeat.
Nakamura recalled his wrestling-heavy approach being booed by fans when he outworked Carlos Vera in 2024. Taken aback by the booing, Nakamura decided to reevaluate his style to produce more fan-friendly performances. When Nakamura met Gafurov at UFC 311 six-plus months ago, the 30-year-old suggested that he tried to hunt for a flashy knockout, which ultimately cost him the fight.
Youngster Credits New Coaches for Stellar Performance
Nakamura has since joined American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida. Led by former fighter-turned-coach Mike Brown, the ATT trainers have taught Nakamura to focus on his wrestling to create openings for highlight-reel knockouts like the one over Fletcher on Saturday.
“Actually, in UFC [298], I used a lot of wrestling game and ground top control, and the audience was booing me,” Nakamura noted at the post-fight media scrum. “So that was kind of a shock. So, I [re]considered my style. So, I was too focused on knocking out my opponent. So that’s the reason I didn’t perform well in my last fight. Mainly, Mike Brown and many ATT coaches told me, ‘You have to wrestle, wrestle. Using the wrestling and faking, then your striking will work.’ So, I’m working on that.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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