Muin Gafurov vs Rinya Nakamura Prediction: Hybrid to Stay Undefeated

UFC 311 will take place in the United States on the night of January 19th. In one of the early fights, Tajikistan's Muin Gafurov will face the undefeated Japanese fighter Rinya Nakamura. The bout will happen in the lightest weight category. 

Muin Gafurov

Gafurov has achieved a lot of success in amateur boxing. He was world champion in combat sambo, grappling and MMA and made his professional debut in 2013. Muin's debut in the UFC in 2023 ended in two losses, but in his last bout, he won his first victory in the world's strongest league by beating South Korean Kang Kyung-ho by unanimous decision (19-10 record at the time, 8-4 in the UFC).

Rinya Nakamura

Rinya Nakamura is a 29-year-old Japanese fighter who has never lost a fight. He is very familiar with the UFC, having already fought five times here, winning all five. Three of these wins came early.

Nakamura's main fighting style is a freestyle wrestling, which might sound strange to the Japanese fighter. He has successfully adapted his wrestling skills to MMA. Nakamura is also a good puncher, with most of his wins being by knockout.

Expert Betting Tips

Muin Gafurov is facing the toughest fight of his career, and there are big doubts that he will be able to cope. The Japanese fighter is clearly improving, but things aren't going as well for Gafurov in the UFC as one would hope. It's hard to say how the bout will go, but we think Nakamura has a slight advantage when standing and when on the floor. The judges will have to count the points.

Prediction:

TO (2.5) for 1.53

TO (1.5) for 1.27

W2 by Points for 1.80