Rinya Nakamura made one heck of an impression in his official UFC debut.
Nakamura, 27, pulled off an early candidate for Knockout of the Year with a devastating 33-second finish of Toshiomi Kazama to win the Road to UFC bantamweight tournament at UFC Vegas 68. The Japanese prospect came out throwing hands with reckless abandon and quickly landed a brutal counter left that put Kazama out cold on the canvas.
Watch video of Nakamura’s finishing sequence below.
Rinya Nakamura knocks Toshiomi Kazama out in less than a minute #UFCVegas68
(via @espnmma) pic.twitter.com/WcSJn8cz45 — MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) February 5, 2023
“That was crazy,” Nakamura said afterward. “I’ve been dreaming of fighting in this cage for a long time, such a long time. Fifteen years.”
The son of MMA pioneer Kozo Nakamura, Nakamura (7-0) won both of his bouts in the Road to UFC tournament with first-round stoppages, submitting Gugun Gusman and then knocking out Shohei Nose. He now enters the UFC as a name to watch in the 135-pound division.
For Kazama (10-3), the setback marked just the second knockout loss of the 25-year-old’s MMA career.
Check out complete results of UFC Vegas 68 here.