Excited for his first UFC fight in front of a big crowd the theme of the week for UFC bantamweight Rinya Nakamura is staying calm as he prepares to take on Fernie Garcia at UFC Singapore on Saturday night.
“I need to keep calm because this is my first time to fight (in front of) a big crowd. This is big motivation for me, and this is a little trap,” Nakamura told reporters on Thursday.
Nakamura (7-0) has fought in Singapore before, but with no crowd. Fighting Garcia in front of a full audience at UFC Singapore will be a change for the young bantamweight.
“I want to explode the arena,” Nakamura joked.
“With my nice performance, but I need to focus on just (finishing) the opponent for 15 minutes. So I’m going to do my mission. No matter how big (the) crowd (is) in this arena.”
Finishing is something Nakamura has plenty of experience in even if it’s only in 7 professional bouts. He has only gone to decision once, and 5 of his 6 finishes came in the first round. Still he values the experience of going a full 15-minute fight and he would welcome that at UFC Singapore, but he doesn’t expect it.
“Five fights finished in the first round so I want the experience to fight 15 minutes,” he said.
“But this fight going to be finished.”
Watch the entire media day scrum with Rinya Nakamura above. He takes on Fernie Garcia at UFC Singapore on Saturday.
