Freestyle wrestling world champion Rinya Nakamura remains undefeated, dominates Fernie Garcia at UFC Singapore
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to us today, August 26, 2023, for UFC Singapore, going down live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore.
Headlining the event is a 145 lb affair between former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway (24-7) and former two-time title challenger Chan Sung Jung (17-7).
Our co-main event came in the light-heavyweight division between no. 8 ranked former title challenger Anthony Smith (36-18) and no. 10 ranked Ryan Spann (21-8), a rematch of their 2021 encounter.
Our first feature fight of the event came in the bantamweight division between Rinya Nakamura (8-0) and Fernie Garcia (10-4).
28-year-old Nakamura has all sorts of hype surrounding his name, and for good reason. This man won a gold medal at the 2017 Under 23 World Championships in freestyle wrestling, as well as a bronze medal in the 2018 World Cup. He finished off his wrestling career with a senior freestyle record of 36-9.
Since making his professional MMA debut, Nakamura had finished six of his seven opponents to date with five knockouts, including his UFC debut earlier this year which he won via KO in a mere 33 seconds.
Continue reading to see how this bantamweight showcase went down:
Official Result: Rinya Nakamura def. Fernie Garcia via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Nakamura lands a good left kick to the body to open the bout, before taking Garcia down on his first attempt about one minute in. He absolutely dominates Garcia on the mat throughout the opening round, handily passing to side control before attempting a north-south choke.
Nakamura decides to let go of the choke before settling in side control where he reigns down some heavy punches and elbows, looking to attack on of Garcia’s arms.
Garcia eats a lot of left round kicks to his lead leg and body through the first couple minutes of round two, before again being taken down. He locks Nakamura into a guillotine choke upon being put on his back, though the Japan native easily passes over to safety and attempts a Von Flue choke.
Nakamura lets it go and dominates the fight from top position just like he did in the first, nearly securing a straight armbar toward the end of the round.
Nakamura continued to dominate through the third and final round, securing his fourth takedown in four attempts. He nearly secured an armbar in the final minute of round three, having it fully extended before Garcia battles his way out of it.
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