Verdejo vs Nakatani

Who won Verdejo vs Nakatani?

Masayoshi Nakatani beat Felix Verdejo by technical knockout in the 9th round on Saturday 12th December 2020 at The Bubble, MGM Grand in Nevada.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 10 rounds in the Lightweight division, which meant the weight limit was 135 pounds (9.6 stone or 61.2 KG).

This fight appeared on the undercard of Shakur Stevenson beating Toka Kahn Clary. Also, on the undercard Edgar Berlanga beat Ulises Sierra.

Verdejo vs Nakatani stats

Back in December 2020, Felix Verdejo stepped into the ring with a record of 27 wins, 1 loss and 0 draws, 17 of those wins coming by the way of knock out.

Masayoshi Nakatani made his way to the ring with a record of 18 wins, 1 loss and 0 draws, with 12 of those wins by knock out.

The stats suggested Nakatani had a slight advantage in power over Verdejo, with a 67% knock out percentage over Verdejo's 63%.

Felix Verdejo was the younger man by 4 years, at 27 years old.

Nakatani had a height advantage of 3 inches over Verdejo. Despite this, he had 1-inch reach advantage.

Both Felix Verdejo & Masayoshi Nakatani fought out of an orthodox stance.

Verdejo was arguably the less experienced fighter, having had 9 more fights, and made his debut in 2012, 1 year and 5 months later than Nakatani, whose first professional fight was in 2011. He had fought 12 less professional rounds, 144 to Nakatani's 156.

Felix Verdejo went into the fight ranked number 15 by the WBC, 11 by the WBO and 5 by the IBF at lightweight.

Masayoshi Nakatani was ranked number 14 by the WBO in the 135lb division.

Verdejo vs Nakatani form

Verdejo had won 5 of his most recent fights, stopping 2 of them, going the distance 3 times.

In his last fight before this contest, he had defeated Will Madera on 16th July 2020 by technical knockout in the 1st round at The Bubble, MGM Grand, Nevada, United States.

Previous to that, he had defeated Manuel Rey Rojas on 18th January 2020 by unanimous decision in their 10 round contest at Turning Stone Resort & Casino, New York.

Going into that contest, he had beat Bryan Vasquez on 20th April 2019 by unanimous decision in their 10 round contest at Madison Square Garden, New York.

Before that, he had won against Oliver Flores on 3rd February 2017 by unanimous decision in their 10 round contest at Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

He had beat Juan Jose Martinez on 11th June 2016 by technical knockout in the 5th round at Madison Square Garden, New York, United States.

Nakatani had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 3 of them, going the distance once.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had lost to Teofimo Lopez on 19th July 2019 by unanimous decision in their IBF World Lightweight eliminator fight at MGM National Harbor, Maryland, United States.

Previous to that, he had defeated Izuki Tomioka on 29th July 2018 by technical knockout in the 11th round at EDION Arena Osaka, Osaka, Japan.

Going into that contest, he had won against Amphon Suriyo on 24th February 2018 by knockout in the 6th round at EDION Arena Osaka, Osaka.

Before that, he had defeated Ryan Sermona on 3rd September 2017 by technical knockout in the 4th round at Shimazu Arena, Kyoto.

He had beat Krai Setthaphon on 9th April 2017 by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest at EDION Arena Osaka, Osaka.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Masayoshi Nakatani had been fighting more than Felix Verdejo.

Going to this contest, Felix Verdejo had last fought 4 months and 26 days ago, while Masayoshi Nakatani's last outing had been 1 year, 4 months and 23 days ago.

Verdejo's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 6 months and 1 day, meaning he had been fighting on average every 10 months and 25 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 36 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 7.2 rounds on average.

Nakatani's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 8 months and 3 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 8 months and 25 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 45 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 9 rounds on average.

What time did Verdejo vs Nakatani start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 9:00 PM EST / 6:00 PM PST at The Bubble, MGM Grand, Nevada, United States, which was around 2:00 AM GMT in the UK.

Who broadcast Verdejo vs Nakatani?

Verdejo vs Nakatani was broadcast on ESPN in the US, while the fight was broadcast in the United Kingdom by Premier Sports.

What were the odds on Verdejo vs Nakatani?

Felix Verdejo was a 11/50 (-450) favourite going into the contest, while Masayoshi Nakatani made his way into the ring at 3/1 (+300) with oddsmakers.