LAS VEGAS – Toshiomi Kazama knew he wanted to win at UFC on ESPN 61 to save lots of his future with the promotion, and he did simply that with a Efficiency of the Evening comeback win.
Simply when it regarded like Kazama (11-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) was on the cusp of a 3rd consecutive defeat to start his octagon tenure in opposition to Charalampos Grigoriou (8-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC) on Saturday on the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, he staged an exciting comeback to complete the combat by triangle choke within the second spherical of the bantamweight bout.
For Kazama, the enjoyment of victory is overshadowed by the evaporation of stress, figuring out that if he had misplaced, this might’ve been his ultimate UFC combat.
“I really feel relieved,” Kazama informed MMA Junkie and different reporters by means of an interpreter post-fight at UFC on ESPN 61. “In fact, I’m blissful, however I’m relieved. That’s a way more larger feeling than being blissful. … With all these dropping fights, I felt like I used to be strolling a darkish cave for some time. On this combat, in fact, the scenario wasn’t that good. However nonetheless, I used to be in a position to win.”
After getting dropped and almost completed by Grigoriou’s strikes, Kazama mentioned he knew he needed to maintain his composure. He did simply that, holding on and avoiding harm as finest he might whereas his opponent drained himself out throwing strikes.
That’s when Kazama repositioned his legs and slapped on a triangle choke which compelled Grigoriou to faucet out. Because of this, Kazama acquired his first UFC win in dramatic vogue, and the further $50,000 bonus that got here together with it.
“I heard all of the voices from the cornerman, so I knew my alternative would come,” Kazama mentioned in regards to the comeback. “As soon as that got here, I needed to complete him with my BJJ abilities, and I used to be ready to do this. So this was an excellent win.”
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