Tyson Nam planning April Fools' Day knockout at Fight Nights Global 86

While Tyson Nam may be best known for a 2012 knockout of a Bellator champion, the 12-year veteran may soon own a little gold of his own.

The Hawaiian has found a new home with Russia’s Fight Nights Global promotion, and after a pair of knockout wins to start his organizational run, Nam is once again in a headlining role.

“I’m sure we can all agree that Zhalgas Zhumagulov is my most difficult opponent since Marlon Moraes,” Nam told MMAjunkie. “Everyone comes to the fight ready to win, and I always take my opponents very seriously, so I hope Zhalgas is prepared to face the greatest opponent that he has ever faced.”

Nam (16-8-1) and Zhumagulov (10-3) meet in the headlining bout of next week’s Fight Nights Global 86 event, which takes place April 1 at Almaty Arena in Kazakhstan. The card streams live on Russian social media platform VK.com.

It’s the second of two events for Fight Nights Global in a three-day span, and Nam plans on capping off the April Fools’ Day card with a memorable affair.

“My skills are sick and on point,” Nam said. “I plan on putting on a great show for Kazakhstan.”

Zhumagulov comes into the contest on a 4-1 run, with the lone loss in that stretch coming via split decision in a five-round battle for the flyweight belt, so the contest will certainly prove a fair test for Nam. And while his opponent owns six of his 10 career wins via knockout, Nam doesn’t think Zhumagulov’s best choice will be to strike.

“I’ve been working on a lot of grappling,” Nam admitted. “Zhalgas’ best bet would be to try and grapple with me because if he thinks he can strike with me, he’ll get knocked out.”

Nam is currently 4-0-1 in his past five contests, the longest unbeaten run of his career. And if he’s able to register a third straight knockout under the Fight Nights Global banner, one would have to believe a shot at current flyweight champ Tagir Ulanbekov (6-0) would lie on the horizon.

Nam insists his focus lies only on positive results rather than any award that may come his way.

“I am perfectly fine with not getting a championship fight,” Nam said. “I just want to fight. Belt or no belt, I just like beating people up.”

Nam’s 2012 knockout of Eduardo Dantas remains his signature win to date, and while it earned him a spot in WSOF, that run didn’t go as planned. Now Nam seems to be finally hitting his stride, and he’s not planning on any changes on April 1.

“Thank you to all my fans that watch and support me,” Name said. “I thank all of my haters as well. If you are watching me, obviously you are entertained by my skills. If you’re making bets on who is going to win, you already know who to put money on.”

For more on Fight Nights Global 86, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.