James Nakashima, 32, of Dwight, Illinois, United States unsuccessfully challenged ONE Welterweight World Champion Kiamrian “Brazen” Abbasov, 27, of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan at “ONE: Inside the Matrix II.” ONE Championship held the mixed martial arts event at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore on November 6, 2020.
Nakashima stands 178 cm and trains at MMA Lab in Glendale, Arizona, USA. Abbasov is 183cm tall and he trains at Novorosfight.
Including Kyrgyzstan and the U.S., nine countries were represented at “ONE: Inside the Matrix II,” which featured five MMA fights. The others were China, Indonesia, Japan, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Russia and South Korea.
The title bout between Abbasov and Nakashima was the main event of the evening. Justin Brown served as the referee.
In the first round, Nakashima connected with a massive punch that damaged Abbasov’s nose. The defending champion was forced to overcome adversity the rest of the way.
In the second round, Nakashima began targeting the nose and attempted takedowns that were defended well by Abbasov. In the third round, Nakashima finally landed a successful takedown after multiple tries and worked from top position and he appeared to be in full control of the action and cruising to victory.
But the tables were turned in the fourth round when Abbasov staggered Nakashima with a knee as the challenger was attempting another double-leg. With the challenger rocked, the defending champion closed the show behind a flurry of strikes.
Brown put a stop to the title bout after 3 minutes and 27 seconds in the fourth round. Abbasov knocked out Nakashima via punches, marking the Dwight native’s first professional MMA loss.
Beating Nakashima at “ONE: Inside the Matrix” improved the professional MMA record of Abbasov to 23 wins and 4 losses. On the other hand, the MMA Lab product now has 12 wins and 1 loss.
Abbasov solely represented Kyrgyzstan at “ONE: Inside the Matrix II.” Nakashima was the sole representative of the U.S.
Born in 1993 in Bishkek, Abbasov was only 3 years old when his parents divorce. He and his sister were raised by their mother Nona Alieva, who is a nurse.
Competing professionally since 2011, Abbasov joined ONE Championship in 2018. “ONE: Inside the Matrix II” marked his fourth outing in the Singapore-based martial arts promotion. After submitting Agilan “Alligator” Thani, 25, of Malaysia at “ONE: Destiny of Champions” at the Putra Indoor Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on December 7, 2018, the Bishkek native knocked out Yushin “Thunder” Okami, 39, of Japan at “ONE: For Honor” at the Istora Senaya in Jakarta, Indonesia on May 3, 2019.
On October 25, 2019, Abbasov became the new ONE Welterweight World Champion at “ONE: Dawn of Valor” at the Istora Gelora Bung Karno in Jakarta. The Bishkek native defeated then champion Zebaztian “The Bandit” Kadestam, 30, of Sweden via unanimous decision.
CONAN Daily 