Nakamura vs Gafurov

Who won Nakamura vs Gafurov?

Muin Gafurov beat Rinya Nakamura by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest during the prelims of UFC 311, on Saturday 18th January 2025 at Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.

The scorecards were announced in favor of the winner Muin Gafurov.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Bantamweight division, which meant the weight limit was 135 pounds (9.6 stone or 61.2 KG).

Nakamura vs Gafurov stats

Rinya Nakamura stepped into the octagon with an undefeated record of 9 wins, zero losses and 0 draws, 5 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 1 by submission.

Muin Gafurov made his way to the cage with a record of 19 wins, 6 losses and 0 draws, 10 of those wins coming by knock out and 7 by submission.

This was Rinya Nakamura's 6th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2022. Muin Gafurov marked his 4th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2023.

Rinya Nakamura's UFC record stood at 5-1-0, while Muin Gafurov's came in at 2-2-0.

The stats suggested Nakamura had a slight advantage in power over Gafurov, with a 56% knock out percentage over Gafurov's 53%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Gafurov had a large advantage over Nakamura, boasting a 37% submission rate over Nakamura's 11%.

Rinya Nakamura was the older man by 1 year, at 29 years old.

Nakamura was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 16 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2021, 7 years and 6 months later than Gafurov, whose first professional fight was in 2013. He had fought 28 less professional rounds, 19 to Gafurov's 47.

Nakamura vs Gafurov form

Gafurov had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going the distance once.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Kyung Ho Kang at UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Aliskerov on 22nd June 2024 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Previous to that, he had lost to Said Nurmagomedov at UFC 294 on 21st October 2023 by submission in the 1st round at Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Going into that contest, he had been beaten by John Castaneda at UFC Fight Night – Kara-France vs. Albazi on 3rd June 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC Apex, Las Vegas, United States.

Before that, he had beaten Diego Silva at LFA 144 on 14th October 2022 by knockout in the 3rd round in their LFA Bantamweight championship fight at Sanford Pentagon, Sioux Falls.

He had defeated Herbeth Sousa at LFA 134 on 10th June 2022 by knockout in the 2nd round at Bell County Expo Center, Belton.

Activity check

Nakamura's last 3 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 1 month and 8 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 8 months and 12 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 7 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.3 rounds on average.

Gafurov's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 9 months and 2 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 6 months and 20 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 12 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.4 rounds on average.

What time did Nakamura vs Gafurov start?

The fighters were expected to walk out at around 11:50 PM UTC , which was 6:50 PM EST or 3:50 PM PST on the West Coast of America, or 11:50 PM GMT in the UK.

What were the odds on Nakamura vs Gafurov?

Rinya Nakamura was a 4/25 (-630) favourite going into the contest, while Muin Gafurov made his way into the ring at 9/2 (+450) with oddsmakers.