Rin Nakai can’t understand why she isn’t in the UFC. In a series of emotional posts the 35 year old has made it clear she thinks she has done enough to earn a second chance with the American promotion.
Nakai signed for the UFC as a bantamweight in 2014 and was released after dropping decisions to Miesha Tate and Leslie Smith. She subsequently dropped down to 125lbs and has won nine fights in a row.
She made a plea for the UFC to sign her along with a photo in which she doesn’t appear to have quite finished putting her underwear on:
I can't understand why I can't compete in theUFC
It has nothing to do with me now8years ago7yearsago theUFC was in the upper weight class and I was too small and underweight to do it
Confident at flyweight
rigorous training everyday
I'm stronger now than I was then#RinNakai#UFC pic.twitter.com/ToNhytJhEM— Rin Nakai 中井りん (@RinNakai2) September 16, 2022
Desperate plea
Nakai states that she is confident at flyweight and,
“I am stronger now than I was then.”
The 35 year old is known for wearing costumes which leave little to the imagination. Among the fighters she has beaten on her winning run is Kanako Murata who would go on to sign for the UFC as a strawweight.
In a post made on Twitter slightly earlier Nakai sounds a little desperate stating that she will die if she doesn’t get into the UFC again:
🚀☀
I will sue anyone who interferes with my UFC negotiations or my activities
Forced obstruction of business
I've worked hard for everything in life to become UFC champion
If I don't make it to theUFC, I will die
Take the life of a pure athlete very bad, never do#RinNakai#UFC pic.twitter.com/SJ14eoth8b— Rin Nakai 中井りん (@RinNakai2) September 16, 2022
Tournament winner
Nakai also seems to think that there are people trying to prevent her from signing a second UFC contract and even threatens to sue anyone who ‘interferes with my UFC negotiations’. The 35 year old does not seem to be in a good place despite coming off a very good run of recent results.
She won the Deep-Jewels flyweight Grand Prix earlier this year. Nakai beat fellow veteran Shizuka Sugiyama in the final who, unlike many of her recent opponents, does have a very strong record.
With Rizin having seemingly abandoned the women’s 125lbs division Nakai is short on potential opponents in Japan. She seems to have beaten every single fighter that Deep-Jewels has to offer.
Ji Yeon Kim is currently the only Asian fighter competing in the UFC’s flyweight division. The Korean has lost her last four fights by decision but earned bonuses during two of those defeats.
Nakai is entitled to feel she is more worthy of a place on the roster than the Korean, based purely on her recent results. But Kim has succeeded in entertaining the fans and putting on some memorable wars both at flyweight and bantamweight.
A nine fight winning streak would normally be enough to secure a fighter a UFC contract but perhaps matchmakers are not convinced by Nakai’s wrestling based style. We hope for her sake the 35 year old does get the contract she craves as she is starting to sound a little desperate..
