Following an uneventful second round win over Borislav Jeliazkov, Tamura found himself pitted against Renzo Gracie from the Gracie family. The Brazilian fighter got the earliest of the fight with a guillotine choke from the guard, but Tamura started to dominate thanks to his superior striking and takedown defense. Believing himself to be the superior on the ground, Renzo lied down and challenged Tamura to grapple with him, which the Japanese shooter did, managing to pass his guard and taking the back of the Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist. After returning to the standing position by the referee's order, Tamura captured the back again by reversing a takedown and locked crucifix, which he used to pursue a choke until the end of the time. Tamura was awarded the unanimous decision, being the second Japanese in defeating a Gracie after Kazushi Sakuraba did it with Royler earlier in the year.