UFC Fight Night 289: Brady Hiestand vs Rinya Nakamura Preview & Prediction

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Brady Hiestand returns after a lengthy absence to face Road to UFC winner, Rinya Nakamura, at 135 pounds.

Brady Hiestand vs Rinya Nakamura facts

What time are Brady Hiestand and Rinya Nakamura expected to walk out? 27 September 2026 at 2:45 am

Where is UFC Fight Night 289: Rosas Jr. vs Barcelos? Meta Apex, Enterprise, USA

Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night 289: Rosas Jr. vs Barcelos? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC Fight Night 289

What TV channel is UFC Fight Night 289: Rosas Jr. vs Barcelos on? UK – TNT Sports / USA – Paramount

Where can I stream UFC Fight Night 289: Rosas Jr. vs Barcelos? UK – TNT Sports can stream the event online via the TNT Sports website and HBO Max / USA – Paramount+ & UFC Fight Pass

UFC Fight Night 289: Rosas Jr. vs Barcelos main card

Raul Rosas Jr. vs Raoni Barcelos (Bantamweight)

Norma Dumont vs Ailin Perez (Women's Bantamweight)

Luis Hernandez vs Sedriques Dumas (Light Heavyweight)

Mehemmedeli Osmanli vs Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu (Bantamweight)

Melissa Amaya vs Valesca Machado (Women's Strawweight)

UFC Fight Night 289: Rosas Jr. vs Barcelos prelims

Brady Hiestand vs Rinya Nakamura (Bantamweight)

Rodolfo Vieira vs Robert Bryczek (Middleweight)

Rodolfo Bellato vs Christian Edwards (Light Heavyweight)

Josiah Harrell vs Elves Brener vs Josiah Harrell (Lightweight)

Montel Jackson vs Ricky Simon (Bantamweight)

John Castaneda vs Alateng Heili (Bantamweight)

Vanessa Demopoulos vs Yazmin Jauregui (Women's Strawweight)

Brady Hiestand: Can "Bam Bam" earn a huge victory after an extended stretch on the sidelines?

TUF 29 runner up, Brady Hiestand (8-2) finally makes the walk to the Octagon after an absence of more than two years. An excellent grappler with solid boxing and kicks, Hiestand is perfect in the UFC since dropping the finale to Ricky Turcios, going 3-0 with wins over Fernie Garcia, Batgeral Danaa, and Garrett Armfield. His most recent win over Armfield was his most impressive showing to date, with "Bam Bam" recovering from a brutal knockdown in the early goings to eventually take over and submit his opponent to earn his first UFC finish.

Rinya Nakamura: Does "Hybrid" build on a superb KO in his last appearance?

Freestyle wrestling standout and Road to UFC winner, Rinya Nakamura (10-1), returns following a lightning fast body kick TKO over Nathan Fletcher in his last showing. Beloved amongst the UFC fans for his self-professed love of gambling his fight purse, "Hybrid" is 2-1 in the promotion, sandwiching wins over Carlos Vera and the aforementioned Fletcher with an upset decision loss to Muin Gafarov. However, his last showing indicated that he has learned the lessons he needed to from that defeat, with his wrestling and athleticism potentially posing a serious problem for many contenders in the division.

Brady Hiestand vs Rinya Nakamura prediction

Hiestand remains one of the more pleasant surprises to come out of TUF in recent years, but I believe that this one is going to prove to be too much for him. The American has suffered a series of serious injuries and has been out of action for more than two years; this is a really difficult matchup to come back to after that amount of time on the shelf.

The American is really well-rounded, but a lot of his success in the UFC has come from his ability to score takedowns; an area of the fight where Nakamura arguably has the edge courtesy of his wrestling pedigree. He also looked like he had really come on in leaps and bounds in terms of blending his striking with his grappling in his last fight, demonstrating some sneaky power to boot.

“Bam Bam" is a dog with no quit in him; he is going to be in there swinging until the final bell. However, I think that Nakamura is going to be just a step ahead in terms of the numbers. This should be an excellent scrap and you could argue that the odds are a little too steep, but we’re still siding with the favorite here.

Prediction: Rinya Nakamura to win by decision