Road to UFC bantamweight winner Rinya Nakamura has his first non-tournament fight set.
Nakamura (7-0), an undefeated Japanese talent who won the inaugural Road to UFC tournament earlier this year and claimed a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus in the process, will face Fernie Garcia (10-3) at UFC Singapore on August 26, 2023.
UFC officials announced the booking on social media on Thursday. Asian MMA was first to report the match-up.
Nakamura, a freestyle wrestler, won gold at the Under 23 World Championships in 2017, and had his eye on competing at the Olympic Games until their postponement in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Instead, Nakamura made the transition to MMA, posting an undefeated 4-0 record before joining the Road to UFC tournament last year. He defeated Toshiomi Kazama in the final this past February to secure a UFC contract.
Garcia, a 2021 Dana White’s Contender Series winner, has dropped back-to-back fights to start his UFC career. Most recently, he was on the wrong side of a unanimous decision to The Ultimate Fighter 29 finalist Brady Hiestand.
UFC Singapore is set to be headlined by featherweight action, as Max Holloway takes on fellow veteran The Korean Zombie on August 26. The following match-ups have been reported for the event thus far:
- Max Holloway vs. The Korean Zombie
- Lukasz Brzeski vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta
- Michal Oleksiejczuk vs. Chidi Njokuani
- JJ Aldrich vs. Liang Na
- Rinya Nakamura vs. Fernie Garcia
- Anthony Smith vs. Ryan Spann
