Keven Carrasco on facing Sam Nagai: a win “would be huge”
Carrasco opens The Crown against the 2023 champion this Sunday and tells VF Comunica a win over Nagai would be huge
Keven Carrasco opens his run at The Crown 2026 this Sunday, November 8, at the Pyramid in Long Beach, California, against one of the toughest names in the featherweight bracket: Sam Nagai, who won the division at the first Crown in 2023.
Carrasco made his name at light featherweight, winning World and Pan titles at purple and brown belt. At The Crown, he is moving up.
“I’m very excited! Not only to challenge myself against other high level jiu jitsu athletes, but at a heavier weight class. I think that the biggest challenge will be to perform at my best and to let it out on the mat win or lose, that for me is always top of the list when competing,” he told VF Comunica.
“We train hours a day throughout the week and we only get 10 minutes at a time to show what we got. A win against someone like Samuel would be huge, so I’m going to make sure I give my all this Sunday.”
Nagai comes in sharp after reaching the Pans final this year, where he lost 6-4 to Cole Abate. The winner faces Will Wilson or Ademir Barreto in the semifinals, according to the Crown 2026 brackets. Each of the six divisions has eight athletes, and every champion takes home $20,000.
Who gets through this one: Nagai’s experience or Carrasco’s ambition?
VF Comunica’s coverage of The Crown is presented by Kingz.
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