UFC Monthly Report | February 2023

The 27-year-old Japanese bantamweight was the most impressive competitor through the opening two rounds of the Road to UFC tournament last year, registering a pair of first-round finishes while showing a diverse skill set, patience, and confidence inside the Octagon.

Paired off with fellow Japanese fighter Toshiomi Kazama in the finals of the 135-pound tournament at the start of the month, Nakamura introduced himself to a wider audience by welcoming Kazama’s desire to engage on the feet, collecting a knockout win in 33 seconds.

See Every Result From The Road To The UFC Finale

Although he’s still young in his MMA career, Nakamura ticks all the boxes in terms of what you’re looking for an in elite prospect, as he has good size for the division, clear power, a solid striking base, and excellent grappling. The fact that he excelled at the world level in wrestling before transitioning to MMA also speaks volumes about his upside, as there aren’t likely to be too many scenarios he faces in these early days of his UFC journey that bring the scrutiny, pressure, and attention as winning the Under-23 World Championship.

He’s reached the biggest stage in the sport with a perfect 7-0 record and six finishes less than two years after making his debut, so just imagine where he’ll be with another year of training and experience. Bantamweight is flush with prospects and incredible talents, but Nakamura is definitely someone to keep close tabs on going forward.

Submission of the Month: Erin Blanchfield submits Jessica Andrade (UFC Vegas 69)

With all due respect to the other 15 individuals that won fights in February by submission, there was no other choice here but Blanchfield’s finish of Andrade.

This was viewed as the fighting equivalent of Blanchfield taking the MCATs or LSATs — a top-end entrance exam to determine if the ultra-talented 23-year-old was in fact ready to be a bona fide contender in the flyweight division, and “Cold Blooded” not only aced the test, but finished in no time flat, too, making it look relatively easy.

We often talk about athletes taking a step up in competition, but this was clearing an entire flight of stairs.

Blanchfield went from facing Molly McCann — a solid, veteran battler at Madison Square Garden in November to dispatching a former strawweight champion and flyweight title challenger 97 seconds into the second round. How she did it was just as impressive, as well.

WATCH: See What Blanchfield Had To Say After Beating Andrade

After trading with Andrade for much of the first round, Blanchfield hit a beautiful trip in the second as the two came together in a body lock and, from there, it was done. She effortlessly floated into side control and quickly climbed onto Andrade’s back as the Brazilian made a tactical mistake, and as soon as she exposed her neck, the surging American laced up the choke, never really bothering with her hooks until things were all but over.

There are “yeah, but…” arguments that some will want to make to take away from Blanchfield’s achievement, but the bottom line is that she showed zero hesitation in accepting a fight with Andrade as her short-notice replacement opponent and then finished her in less than seven minutes.

This was an incredible performance, period.

Knockout of the Month: Justin Tafa defeats Parker Porter (UFC 284)

While there was an assortment of submissions to choose from this month, the pool of knockout finishes was relatively shallow, with only eight bouts being halted as a result of strikes.

Tafa gets the nod for a couple reasons:

1. His finish was clean, as the big man channeled “The Lead Horse,” Mark Hunt, and collected a walk-off finish of Parker Porter, and
    
2. It was the kind of swift, clean finish that makes you sit up and wonder if Tafa is someone that could develop into a bit of a problem in the heavyweight division going forward.

The big man from down under is only 29 years old — just a baby in heavyweight terms — and is nine fights into his MMA career, with two-thirds of those appearances coming inside the UFC Octagon. Although he’s just 3-3 in the UFC (and 6-3 overall), Tafa has earned back-to-back first-round stoppage wins, is athletic and explosive, and is sure to continue making strides as he logs more time in both the gym and the cage.

Walk-off knockouts are always dope, and Tafa scored his with nasty precision and quickness.

Hat’s off to the “Bad Man” for this one.

Fight of the Month: Islam Makhachev defeats Alexander Volkanovski (UFC 284)

For the second straight month, the best fight on paper claims the top spot in the Monthly Report review of the top fights, as Makhachev and Volkanovski’s technical, tactical, thoroughly entertaining battle to close out UFC 284 was the obvious choice as the month’s best.