A bantamweight bout between Rinya Nakamura and Brady Hiestand has been added to UFC 298. The two men will face off at the Honda Center City in Anaheim on February 17th.
Nakamura (8-0) will be looking to build on a very successful 2023. The 28 year old won the Road to UFC bantamweight tournament to earn a full time spot on the roster.
The Japanese fighter is a decorated wrestler who only made his MMA debut in 2021. Nakamura is coming off a decision win over Fernie Garcia at UFC Singapore.
Hiestand (7-2) also holds a decision win over Garcia and reached the final of TUF 29 to earn his spot on the roster. He is coming off a stoppage win over Danaa Batgerel at UFC Vegas 71.
View this post on Instagram
Asian fighters
Nakamura is one of three Asian fighters currently confirmed for this card. The light heavyweight bout between Zhang Mingyang and Brendson Ribeiro has also been moved to UFC 298.
Mingyang (16-6) is on a ten fight winning streak that culminated in a KO victory over George Tokkos at a Road to UFC event last year. Ribeiro (15-5) is on a three fight winning streak and will be making his UFC debut.
ZHANG MINGYANG WITH THE HUGE UPSET 💥
[ #RoadToUFC LIVE NOW on @UFCFightPass ] pic.twitter.com/0h2b10Sxo5
— UFC (@ufc) June 9, 2022
Japanese welterweight
Also confirmed for this card is Yusaku Kinoshita. The Japanese welterweight has been stopped in the opening round of both his UFC fights to date.
Kinoshita scored a big stoppage win of his own at Dana White’s Contender Series last year. But he hasn’t been able to replicate that form inside the actual octagon.
At UFC 298 he faces Danny Barlow . The American is also a Dana White’s Contender Series alumni and will be making his UFC debut on February 17th.
Now THAT'S how you bounce back from an eye poke! 🤯
[ @120821Saku2 | #DWCS ] pic.twitter.com/2TKHRFGn1s
— UFC (@ufc) August 31, 2022
Featherweight king
Alex Volkanovski (26-3) came up short in his rematch with Islam Makhachev. He might have slipped down the pound for pound rankings after that loss but there is no question the Australian is the best featherweight on the planet.
He will be putting his UFC featherweight title on the line against Ilia Topuria (14-0). The #5 ranked Georgian has won six out of six since signing for the promotion.
UFC 298, Los Angeles, February 17th
Alexander Volkanovski (c) vs. Ilia Topuria (For featherweight title)
Zhang Mingyang vs. Brendson Ribeiro (Light heavyweight)
Danny Barlow vs. Yusaku Kinoshita (Welterweight)
Marcos Rogério de Lima vs. Justin Tafa (Heavyweight)
Rinya Nakamura vs. Brady Hiestand (Bantamweight)
