Nam’s performance bonus for 32-second knockout “Was a no brainer”
Tyson Nam speaks with MyMMANews
Tyson Nam’s first octagon win is one to remember.
Nam earned one of four “Performance of the Night” bonuses with a 32-second knockout against Zarrukh Adashev at UFC on ESPN 10 this past Saturday, June 13. Fighting in the second bout of the night, Nam booked himself into UFC history.
The first three bouts of the evening tied the UFC record for most finishes to occur in under a minute each. The last time this happened occurred at UFC 84 in May 2008.
Coming off a two-fight losing streak, Nam came away with more than a win. According to Nam, he proved some of his doubters wrong.
“All the reporters, all the fans were saying this was going to be the weakest, the worst, the sh***est UFC card ever just because there were a few guys who were ranked,” Nam said.
“It’s always these cards where these guys got something to prove where you are going to get action-packed fights…It feels good to be part of the weakest UFC card ever.”
One long week
Nam made the best of what turned out to be an eventful fight week. His original opponent, Ryan Benoit withdrew from the bout before Adashev stepped in on Tuesday, June 9.
Nam’s flyweight bout was then moved up to the bantamweight division. Adashev eventually missed the mark by 2.5 pounds at the weigh-ins on Friday, June 13. Nam received 20 percent of the Adashev’s purse.
A week that started with adversity, ended with a lucrative ending. Nam earned part of Adashev’s pay, plus a win bonus and “Performance of the Night” bonus.
“Stacks on stacks on stacks,” Nam said. “I didn’t know what was going on all the way up till then, all I knew was that I needed to do something big and I made it happen that night.”
Nam could feel the pressure of a two-fight losing streak before stepping into the octagon. A professional fighter for 14 years, Nam made his promotional debut on short notice against Sergio Pettis this past September. He lost by unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN+ 17.
He suffered another defeat to a top 15 opponent, Kai Kara-France by unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN+26 on Feb. 22. The Hawaii native knew what was at stake against Adashev.
“It was a culmination of everything on top of my shoulders,” Nam said. “I got two losses, I need to have a solid fight over here just because I feel like I am fighting for my job.”
The right hand
The right hand of Nam is nothing new with 11 wins by knockout/TKO. The only difference is he landed it inside the octagon.
It’s the same overhand right that put Eduardo Dantas to the canvas at Shooto Brazil 33 in 2012. His knockout of Rizvan Abuev in 2017 is practically identical to Saturday night’s finish.
“I’m just adding to my resume,” Nam said. “More than half of my wins come this way, so it’s nothing new. To your casual it might be like, “Woohoo” but if you’ve been following me for a while it’s like, “Another one bites the dust.”
Nam received a seven-day medical suspension and is ready to return right away. A rebooking with Benoit is not intriguing to the 36-year-old after the bout was rescheduled four different times according to Nam.
Jordan Espinosa called out Nam after defeating Mark De La Rosa by unanimous decision on the same card Saturday. Nam is also likes a fight with Espinosa.
Nam is gaining more attention and can already tell by his increasing amount of Instagram followers. The fans and media even had a say in his bonus. Following the fights, UFC President Dana White asked people to vote on social media for who deserved the award.
Nam is happy to receive it, but thought the decision was obvious.
“It was a no brainer, nobody got starched like that on that night. Nobody gets stretched like that in the flyweight division,” Nam said. “I was just kind of chuckling to myself, I know Dana just wanted to put it out there, what the fans thought. I was like, ‘Why are you asking stupid questions Uncle Dana? You know who it goes to.’”
