INGLEWOOD, CA – JULY 31: : Goiti Yamauchi (red gloves) in the cage after defeating Chris Gonzalez by TKO in the first round of their Lightweight Bout at The Forum on July 31, 2021 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
Bellator 284: Goiti Yamauchi controls, then KOs Neiman Gracie (Video)
See how the MMA community reacted to Goiti Yamauchi scoring a second-round KO win over Neiman Gracie in the Bellator 284 main event, just Yamauchi’s second fight at welterweight
Goiti Yamauchi may have already solidified himself as one to watch out for in the Bellator welterweight scene thanks to his victory over Neiman Gracie in the main event of Bellator 284.
Despite both men being experts in Brazilian jiu-jitsu (which is an understatement for Gracie), the two didn’t get into a grappling battle right away. Instead, the two struck in close, with Yamauchi getting the upper hand.
Yamauchi would take the first round by rocking Gracie with a right hand before scoring a takedown.
Gracie attempted to pull guard in the second round, but Yamauchi elected to stand and kick his legs.
After the referee forced the fight back to the feet in full with about 90 seconds left in the round, Gracie fired off a series of jabs. It was there, however, that Yamauchi tagged Gracie with an uppercut on the chin to knock him out cold.
Bellator 284: Twitter reacts to Goiti Yamauchi vs. Neiman Gracie
Goiti Yamauchi has quietly been one of the best fighters in Bellator for years. 14-4 record in Bellator with 12 of those wins coming by stoppage, and he’s done it in two different weight classes. He is an awesome fighter and this KO win over Gracie is huge for him. #Bellator284
— Adam Martin (@MMAdamMartin) August 13, 2022
Goiti Yamauchi is a STUD. If you for some reason didn’t know, now you definitely do. What a great KO win for the record holder for Bellator subs. #Bellator284
— Drake Riggs (@DrakeRiggs_) August 13, 2022
Goiti Yamauchi just ascended to another level in front of our eyes. He took repeated jabs like they were powering him up then he crushed Neiman Gracie with a perfect uppercut KO. First time Gracie has been stopped. Goiti had two KOs in 32 previous MMA fights.
— Josh Gross (@yay_yee) August 13, 2022
He dead eyed him with his hands down, took one jab, and then took one soul. Yamauchi is clutch. #Bellator284
— Kenny McKinney (@KennyJMcKinney) August 13, 2022
Goiti Yamauchi just dropped his hands, let Neiman Gracie land on him, and then absolutely murked him with a nasty uppercut.
He’s the first man to stop Neiman Gracie and he did it like he was mf Anderson Silva. #Bellator284
— Brandon The Truth 💯 (@BCTheTruthl) August 13, 2022
That was an incredible uppercut and knockout! May be the best I’ve seen all year. Yamauchi! #Bellator284
— Cereal Gone 🦌 (@GotMyBucksUp) August 13, 2022
Goiti Yamauchi just dropped his hands, let Neiman Gracie land on him, and then absolutely murked him with a nasty uppercut.
He’s the first man to stop Neiman Gracie and he did it like he was mf Anderson Silva. #Bellator284
— Brandon The Truth 💯 (@BCTheTruthl) August 13, 2022
This marked Gracie’s first time dropping back-to-back fights, having come into this bout off a loss to current Bellator interim welterweight champion Logan Storley. Gracie hasn’t been able to string consecutive wins together since losing his then-undefeated record to then-champion Rory MacDonald in 2019.
Yamauchi has now won three straight and is now 2-0 at welterweight after a successful debut against Levan Chokheli in April.
