LAS VEGAS – Yusaku Kinoshita will look to capitalize on his main card spot at UFC Fight Night 218.
Kinoshita (6-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes his UFC debut against Adam Fugitt (8-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) on Saturday’s main card opener at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.
The Japanese prospect has finished all but one of his six professional fights in Round 1, and after punching his ticket to the UFC with an impressive finish of Jose Henrique Souza on Dana White’s Contender Series, Kinoshita envisions a “knockout only.”
“I appreciate that I’m on the main card and sure the Contender Series, how I performed, affected the card,” Kinoshita told reporters through an interpreter at Wednesday’s media day. “So I just want to have a great fight and make sure I show something special.”
Just 22, Kinoshita is proud to fly the Japanese flag high but wants to stand out from the rest.
“Definitely as a Japanese fighter, I want to show how Japanese are special,” Kinoshita said. “And in terms of records and also in terms of impact, show something that no Japanese MMA fighter has shown.”
He continued, “All these legendary Japanese fighters were great. Also, we’re now here, and we want to show something special as well.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 218.
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