Making their promotional debuts, Japanese fighter Hiroshi Nakamura and the Brazilian born Rodrigo Lima kicked off the opening round of the in the season 6 Bantamweight tournament in the first televised bout of Bellator 64. While it wasn’t the prettiest or the most exciting fight that Bellator has put on, the judoka Nakamura implemented his game plan to perfection grind out a unanimous decision victory.

Nakamura spent the majority of the 15 minutes in top position, grinding his opponent and dropping hammerfists. Lima threw a barrage on submissions at Nakamura, including 5 omoplata attempts but he did it all while on his back.

Lima landed two low blows in the limited time the fight was contested on their feet and was deducted a point in the second round after the second knee to the cup.

As the fight went into the third and final round, the grinding from Nakamura and multiple submission attempts had taken its toll on Lima as he looked tired and less active from the bottom. This was exactly the plan Nakamura had said he’d institute in his pre-fight interview which allowed Nakamura to take the decision on all three judges’ scorecards (29-27) and advance into the semifinal round of the bantamweight tournament.

It was the first fight in North America for Nakamura, who after the fight said he felt a bit nervous when the fight started but as the fight went on he felt more comfortable and is ready for the semifinals.

Hiroshi Nakamura Grids His Way To The Bantamweight Semifinals

Hiroshi Nakamura Grids His Way To The Bantamweight Semifinals