We move right along to the next tourney final, which officially
counts for us as the first UFC fight on their respective
careers—think of it like TUF finals. From Japan, Nakamura (7-1, 0-0
UFC) will take on relative local Szalay (10-1, 0-0 UFC), even if
“Seb” is from Perth all the way across the island nation. Someone’s
one (loss) is about to turn into two, barring some unexpected
happening, and referee Herb Dean is here for it. The athletes clap
hands before engaging. Szalay quickly says hello with a body kick, and Nakamura says two
can play that game and proceeds to whip four kicks at him in rapid
succession. Szalay tries to counter the fourth, and he loops a left
hand over the top. Both fighters remain just far enough apart to
whiff on their kicks, but they are closing in on one another with
their strike attempts. Szalay chains a high kick to a spinning
kick, and Nakamura dances out of the way and fires back with a kick
that gets blocked up top. Szalay threatens with his leg before
darting in with a trio of punches, and Nakamura is evasive and
looks to give back to Szalay every time the Aussie kicks at him.
Szalay just misses on a pouncing left hook, and Nakamura bounds off
the fencing and appears to take a sigh of relief that he dodged
that one. Szalay springs back and forth as the crowd grows a bit
restless, and he suddenly surges forth to a wheel kick that drills
Nakamura right in the face. Nakamura does not appear compromised,
as he goes low with a kick and then gets countered. Szalay drops his man to a knee with a short combo, and he reaches
out and clips Nakamura again with long, sweeping hooks. Nakamura
nearly kicks his foe’s leg out, and Szalay’s front leg is showing
some redness and welting three minutes in. Szalay keeps kicking
with his front leg despite this, slapping Nakamura’s calf and then
spinning but missing with his wheel kick effort. Szalay keeps
peppering with kicks like jabs, and his hooks largely come up short
with Nakamura’s footwork keeping him out of the worst danger. They
clash legs at the same time, and Szalay even offers out a hook
kick. The punches from Szalay lead to a spin kick, and Nakamura
does not flinch during the oncoming fire. Szalay chains punches to
the side, and he keeps his guard to block a kick aimed at his upper
chest. Szalay ducks and fires off a left, and Nakamura gives him a
one-two to think about. Szalay is quick to raise up his counter
knee, and the tow trade punches and one kick as the buzzer
sounds. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Szalay Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Szalay Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Szalay

Hands are clapped before fists fly, but it does not take more than
a couple seconds for Szalay to do just that. Nakamura stays on his
bike, evasive and elusive to get away from what flies at him, but
Szalay tracks him down and knocks him into the wall. Nakamura
rebounds and checks a low kick, and he pins Szalay down with a
one-two. Szalay darts at him with his own two-punch combo and makes
Nakamura have to shake it off, only for Szalay to keep after him
and knock him to his seat. Nakamura springs off the mat and backs
off, his volume through the floor while Szalay is landing when he
sees fit. Nakamura tries for his own spinning wheel kick, and
Szalay grabs him mid-spin and chucks him to the ground like two
armfuls of groceries when you want to make just one trip from the
car. Nakamura leaps back upright, and he leans directly into
Szalay’s head as a clacking sound echoes through the cage. Szalay
landed a few punches when swarming forward, but after a minute
pause, Nakamura clears out the cobwebs and is good to continue. No
harm done, and no ill will from the accidental collision. Nakamura
chambers and fires a kick, and he gets clipped again by the
Aussie. Nakamura fires right back with a few punches to reestablish
himself, and he does not make the advancing Szalay falter. Instead,
Szalay knocks him back a few steps, and he stands firm when
Nakamura leaps at him with an elbow. Szalay claims the center of
the cage and spins with a whiffing wheel kick, and he calms himself
to unload with his fists to the head and body. Nakamura tries to
counter, but he is a day late and a dollar short. Nakamura’s
intercepting knee leads to Szalay punching him upside the dome, and
he lifts it up a few more times to try to get Szalay coming
forward. An uncalled foul is apologized for from Szalay, as
Nakamura wipes his eye and then fires off a couple punches.
Nakamura’s jump knee becomes more telegraphed, and he narrowly
evades a huge pair of punches before the round concludes. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Szalay Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Szalay Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Szalay

The 145ers get right to it when the final round kicks off, both men
hurling punches that lead to kicks. The kicks miss the mark, but
Szalay is able to catch Nakamura standing still with a combination.
The two slam together like a child playing with action figures,
with their collisions stemming from a few punches and plenty of
forward movement. Nakamura gains a full head of steam and rings
Szalay’s bell with big hooks, and he starts to back Szalay off with
his strikes. Nakamura just misses on a leading elbow, and Szalay is
able to counter him effectively. The fighter from Japan loops a
left hand over the guard, but it is one-and-done as they proceed to
bang into each other. Nakamura draws blood on the corner of
Szalay’s right eye, and Szalay is starting to slow and retreat
while Nakamura is dead-set on tracking him down and tagging him
with an elbow. Nakamura follows up on the elbow with a stern knee to the body, and
this draws out a short but sweet firefight between the
featherweights. Nakamura plugs on with his elbow strikes, stringing
them together rather than pitching one at a time. Nakamura drives
up a knee, and he catches Szalay cleanly in the sternum and gives
him serious pause. He finds his timing just when he needs, likely
down on the scorecards even if he may be leading this round. Szalay attacks, and Nakamura drives a counter knee square into his
jaw that separates the Aussie from his senses. Szalay twirls around
cinematically and hits the deck on his hands, dazed and confused
while Dean is moment away from stepping in. To finish the job,
Nakamura leaps after his downed foe and whips his fists at his
melon relentlessly, pummeling the Australian athlete until Dean has
no choice but to intervene. What a knee, and what a
comeback for the man from Japan. In the blink of an eye, Nakamura
has reversed his fortunes and hands “Seb” his first career stoppage
loss when it mattered most.

Keiichiro Nakamura

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