Keiichiro Nakamura stops Sebastian Szalay in Road to UFC finale at UFC 325

Keiichiro Nakamura capped a late surge with a sudden finishing strike to stop Sebastian Szalay and win the Road to UFC featherweight tournament final on Saturday, January 31, 2026 (ET). The comeback result on the UFC 325 card turned a fight that had been slipping away into one of the night’s sharpest momentum swings—and it came with the bigger prize of moving from prospect status into the UFC roster.

The finish mattered not just for the highlight, but for how it arrived: Nakamura looked behind on the scorecards after two rounds before finding the timing he needed in the final minutes.

Keiichiro Nakamura’s comeback finish

Szalay controlled much of the early action, building an edge across the first two rounds with clean, long-range work and steady pace. Nakamura absorbed damage, stayed patient, and kept probing with knees as Szalay dipped in and out of range.

In the third round, the rhythm shifted. Nakamura began meeting entries with sharper counters and less retreat, creating a narrower lane for Szalay to safely close distance. With just over a minute remaining, Nakamura fired a perfectly timed knee as Szalay leaned forward to attack. Szalay dropped hard, and Nakamura followed with punches until the referee stepped in to stop the fight.

The official result was a TKO (knee and strikes) at 3:48 of Round 3, sealing the Road to UFC Season 4 featherweight tournament win and the UFC contract that comes with it.

What went right for Sebastian Szalay early

For long stretches, Szalay’s approach was working. He used movement and straight shots to win exchanges and limit Nakamura’s opportunities to set his feet. When Nakamura tried to force combinations, Szalay kept the fight in open space, where he could touch and exit rather than trade.

That structure also helped Szalay avoid prolonged grappling sequences and kept the tempo manageable across the first ten minutes. The problem, ultimately, was that the same forward-leaning entries that helped him score early also created a repeatable timing window late, especially once Nakamura stopped giving ground as freely.

The moment the fight changed

The third round wasn’t simply “more urgency.” Nakamura’s adjustment was positional: he spent less time moving backward in straight lines and more time holding the center long enough to make Szalay pay for closing distance.

Nakamura had flashed the knee earlier, but the finishing sequence came when Szalay’s level and posture drifted forward during an attack. That’s the kind of small, late-round technical lapse that can happen when a fighter is protecting a lead and trying to stay busy at the same time. Nakamura didn’t need a flurry of chances—he needed one clean read.

Road to UFC stakes and what the win signals

Road to UFC is designed to fast-track regional talent into the UFC through a tournament format, and finals tend to reveal more than raw athleticism. A prospect who can survive a bad stretch, stay composed, and still execute a clean finish late is showing traits matchmakers value: durability, problem-solving, and finishing instinct.

For Nakamura, the win answers a key question: can he win when the fight is not going his way? Saturday’s result suggests he can, and that matters as the competition level rises. For Szalay, the performance still showed he can bank rounds and control distance—two skills that translate—while also underscoring how unforgiving the final minute can be in high-level three-round fights.

Key details at a glance

Sources consulted: UFC, UFC Stats, MMA Fighting, Sherdog