ONE Fight Night 28 results: Jeremy Miado vs. Gilbert Nakatani

Jeremy Miado returned to martial arts’ biggest global stage on Friday night in desperate need of a win in his highly anticipated flyweight MMA debut.

Emanating from the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, ONE Fight Night 28 played host to a high-stakes clash as ‘The Jaguar’ looked to hand American-Japanese standout Gilbert Nakatani his second straight loss while snapping his own four-fight losing streak.

Round 1: Miado gets his jab pumping early and already appears to be the faster fighter as he catches Nakatani coming in. Less than a minute into the fight, Nakatani shoots in for a takedown, but Miado defends and catches him on the way out, drawing blood. Miado swings big with a two-punch combination, and Nakatani uses that as an opportunity to change levels and put ‘The Jaguar’ on the mat.

Miado quickly works his way back up, successfully defending a guillotine choke attempt along the way. Back on his feet, Miado lands a nice left hook that wobbles Nakatani, followed by a right down the middle. Nakatani tries to punch his way inside and connects with a right hand. Miado fires back, connecting with a clean right hand. That prompts Nakatani to shoot for a couple of takedown attempts, but Miado defends both.

With less than a minute to go, Nakatani gets Miado to the mat via a single leg and takes the Filipino’s back against the ropes. Nakatani gets the hooks in and rides Miado like a backpack, but there’s not enough time for him to look for a choke.

Round 2: Nakatani gets right back to work and attempts an early takedown against the ropes, but Miado defends and separates. Nakatani shoots in again and Miado sprawls, fending off the single-leg takedown. Miado lands a couple of right hands and is making the most of his reach advantage. Miado lands again, this time with a left hook and Nakatani is now sporting a cut under both eyes.

Nakatani connects with a right hand. He starts to open up with his strikes near the halfway point before changing levels. Miado sees it coming and fends off yet another takedown. Nakatani looks for a spinning back fist, but Miado stops him in his tracks. Miado defends another takedown and lands a right hand that hurts Nakatani, sending him stumbling backward.

Nakatani’s movement is beginning to look labored as Miado attempts his own spinning back fist. Nakatani sees it coming and scores an easy takedown with less than a minute to go in the round. Nakatani cinches in a guillotine choke and cranks on it, but he doesn’t have the positioning to finish things before the round comes to a close.

Round 3: Miado starts the third and final round with a couple of jabs followed by an uppercut. Nakatani attempts to respond with an overhand right, but Miado fends it off and fires back with a right. Nakatani starts chasing for a takedown near the ropes and nearly surrenders a takedown to Miado with another ill-advised spinning back first.

Nakatani eats a left hook from Miado. Nakatani shoots in and scores a single-leg takedown. He immediately takes Miado’s back, forcing the Filipino to scramble onto his back. That allows Nakatani to move straight into full mount. Miado works Nakatani back into half-guard but eats a barrage of elbows on the mat. Miado scrambles his way upright, much to the delight of the live crowd in Bangkok.

Miado lands an uppercut to the chin of Nakatani as we hit 60 seconds left in the fight. Nakatani shoots in near the corner and secures a beautiful double-leg takedown. He starts fishing for an armbar, but Miado turns into his Nakatani to defend. Nakatani unleashes a flurry of elbows until the final tick runs off the clock.

---

ONE Fight Night 28 - Jeremy Miado vs. Gilbert Nakatani Official Result:

Following three rounds of intense action, Jeremy Miado was overcome with emotion after learning that he had been awarded the victory via unanimous decision. The win snaps a four-fight losing streak and gives ‘The Juggernaut’ a new lease on life in the flyweight MMA division.

As for Gilbert Nakatani, the American-Japanese scrapper is 0-2 under the ONE Championship banner and falls to 8-3 in his mixed martial arts career overall.

Official Result: Jeremy Miado defeated Gilbert Nakatani via unanimous decision (MMA - flyweight)