Flyweight, Santa Fe native loses debut

Jerome Rivera’s UFC debut didn’t produce the dream result he was hoping for.

The Santa Fe native was part of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night card in Las Vegas, Nev., a card that began with his midafternoon flyweight bout against Hawaiian Tyson Nam.

Rivera (10-3-0) had a 3-inch height and 4-inch reach advantage but Nam (20-11-1) clearly had a more devastating right hand that came in like a guided missile again and again. The last of them sent Rivera falling backward to the canvas just 17 seconds into the second round. It was followed by a flurry of blows to Rivera’s head in a dizzying ground assault that ended it.

The fight was stopped 33 seconds into the second round, a TKO for Nam to start a 14-fight card that was streamed live on ESPN-plus.

Saturday’s fight was the first of a four-bout UFC contract for Rivera, 25, who was born and raised in Santa Fe. He didn’t agree to the fight against Nam until Sept. 11, giving him just a few days of film study to prepare while

quarantining in his Las Vegas, Nev., hotel room.

A veteran who is attempting to keep his UFC career going, Nam was patient for most of the first round, probing Rivera’s attack while looking for an opening to deliver his vicious right hand. Most of Rivera’s contact came from leg kicks and small jabs without much impact.

Nam’s most damaging shot in the early going came at the 2-minute mark of the first round when his right landed squarely on Rivera’s face, sending him wobbling backward into the fencing.

Rivera maintained his composure and countered with a flurry of kicks that connected with the inside of Nam’s left leg to causes visible redness above his knee, then landed a knee to Nam’s chin with 50 seconds remaining.

Nam immediately answered with a right hook to Rivera’s left ear, then a pair of shots to Rivera’s body in the final 25 seconds of the round that appeared to do significant damage.

The second round didn’t last long as Nam put Rivera on his back with a ferocious right hand to the side of his face. Clearly dazed by the shot, Rivera attempted to recover while on his back, doing whatever he could to block Nam’s assault. The onslaught lasted for just 16 seconds before the referee stepped in to stop the fight.

“I wasn’t sliding off to my left to line up my right hand,” Nam said of a small adjustment he made between rounds to counter Rivera’s attack.

It was Rivera’s first loss in 28 months, snapping a three-fight winning streak that helped land his UFC deal.