5 Things You Might Not Know About Tyson Nam

No one in mixed martial arts swings for the fences with any more vigor than Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight Tyson Nam.

The 39-year-old Hawaiian will attempt to improve upon a 3-4 record inside the Octagon when he tests his wits and fists against the unbeaten Azat Maksum as part of the UFC on ESPN 49 undercard this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Nam has lost two of his past three bouts. He last competed at UFC Fight Night 221, where a Bruno Silva rear-naked choke put him to sleep in the second round of their March 11 confrontation.

As Nam sets his sights on Maksum and their forthcoming encounter at 125 pounds, here are five things you might not know about him:

1. He has been a model of consistency.

Nam first appeared on the professional mixed martial arts scene at the age of 22 when he took out Ryan Lee with third-round punches at an Icon Sport event in February 2006. He has now fought in three different decades: the 2000s, the 2010s and the 2020s. In fact, Nam has competed at least once every calendar year since he made his debut.

2. Adversity does not dissuade him.

The heavy-handed Hawaiian once went nearly three years—1,071 days, to be exact—between victories. After Nam made headlines with his stunning upset of then-Bellator MMA champion Eduardo Dantas under the Shooto Brazil banner on Aug. 25, 2012, he suffered four consecutive defeats to Marlon Moraes, Cody Bollinger, Jeremiah Labiano and Fernando Vieiera. He did not post another win until he punched out Arnold Berdon at a Destiny MMA show on Aug. 1, 2015.

3. He struck gold close to home.

Nam captured the X-1 World Events flyweight championship when he outpointed Shojin Miki to a unanimous decision across five rounds at X-1 World Events 55 in the summer of 2019. He made his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut some two months later.

4. In-demand talents and dependability keep him busy.

The Hawaii Elite MMA product has been a valued commodity since he first set foot in the sport, as evidenced by the fact that he has competed in 18 different promotions during his 35-fight career, including EliteXC, the World Series of Fighting, Fight Nights Global and King of the Cage. Name has plied his trade in eight countries: the United States, Brazil, Canada, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mexico, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates.

5. He put a fallback plan in place.

Nam graduated from the University of Hawaii-Manoa in Honolulu with a degree in exercise science. The school’s notable alumni include Ann Dunham, an American anthropologist and mother of President Barack Obama.