Rinya Nakamura

Rinya Nakamura
Born	中村倫也 (1995-03-23) 23 March 1995 (age 29) Saitama, Japan
Other names	Hybrid
Height	5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Weight	136 lb (62 kg; 9 st 10 lb)
Division	Bantamweight
Reach	68 in (173 cm) [1]
Fighting out of	Saitama, Japan
Team	LDH Martial Arts
Wrestling	Freestyle wrestling
Years active	2021–present (MMA) 2011–2020 (wrestling)
Mixed martial arts record
Total	10
Wins	9
By knockout	5
By submission	1
By decision	3
Losses	1
By decision	1
Other information
University	Senshu University
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
Medal record Men's freestyle wrestling Representing  Japan World Cup 2018 Iowa 61 kg World U23 Championships 2017 Bydgoszcz 61 kg Japanese National Championships 2019 Tokyo 65 kg 2018 Tokyo 65 kg 2015 Tokyo 57 kg World Cadets Championships 2011 Szombathely 50 kg

Rinya Nakamura (Japanese: 中村倫也, Nakamura Rinya, born 23 March 1995) is a Japanese mixed martial artist and former freestyle wrestler who currently competes in the bantamweight division.[2] Competing at 61 kilograms, Nakamura became the 2017 U23 World Champion during his wrestling career, before retiring at age 25 to pursue mixed martial arts.[3]

Background

Rinya is the son of Kozo Nakamura, who was involved in the early development of Shooto in the 90's.[4] Having begun wrestling at the age of five, Nakamura's first notable accomplishment in the sport of freestyle wrestling was a bronze medal from the Cadet World Championships in 2011.[5][6] A multiple-time Japanese National medalist at two different weight classes, his most remarkable achievement of his career came at the 2017 U23 World Championships, where he became the champion at 61 kilograms.[7] After the delay of the 2020 Summer Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nakamura announced his retirement from wrestling in order to pursue a career in mixed martial arts.[3]

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

In April 2020, Nakamura announced his serious intentions of competing in MMA.[3] Nakamura made his professional debut against Takumi Arai in a mixed martial arts reality show Fighting Dreamers on 15 May 2021. He won the fight via first-minute knockout.[8][4]

He then made his sophomore appearance against Akuri Ronda at Shooto 0725 on 25 July 2021.[4] He won the bout via second-round knockout.[9]

Nakamura faced Yasuyuki Nojiri at Shooto 0116 on January 16, 2022.[6] He won the fight via first-minute technical knockout.[10]

On April 24, 2022, he fought against Aliandro Caetano in POUNDSTORM, and although he was punched in round 1 and cut his right eyelid leading to intense bleeding, he utilised his takedown advantage and won the 3–0 decision.[11]

Road to UFC

Nakamura faced Gugun Gusman in the Quarter-Finals of the Bantamweight tournament on June 9, 2022, in Road to UFC Season 1: Episode 3.[12] He won the bout in the first round via Americana submission.[13]

Nakamura faced Shohei Nose in the Semi-Finals of the Bantamweight tournament on October 23, 2022, at Road to UFC Season 1: Episode 6.[14] He won the bout in the first round, knocking out Nose.[15]

In the finals of the tournament, Nakamura faced Toshiomi Kazama on February 4, 2023, at UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Spivac.[16] He won the fight via knockout in the first round.[17] This win earned Nakamura his first Performance of the Night bonus award.[18]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Nakamura faced Fernie Garcia at UFC Fight Night 225 on August 26, 2023.[19] He won the bout in dominant fashion via unanimous decision.[20]

Nakamura was scheduled to face Brady Hiestand on February 17, 2024, at UFC 298.[21] However, Hiestand pulled out due injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer Carlos Vera.[22] Nakamura dominated most of the bout on the ground and won by unanimous decision.[23]

Nakamura faced Muin Gafurov on January 18, 2025 at UFC 311.[24] He lost the fight by unanimous decision, leading to his first loss in mixed martial arts.[25]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • Performance of the Night (One time) vs. Toshiomi Kazama[18]
  • Road to UFC Season 1 Bantamweight Tournament Winner.
  • UFC.com Awards
    • 2023: Ranked #10 Newcomer of the Year[26]

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown

10 matches	9 wins	1 loss
By knockout	5	0
By submission	1	0
By decision	3	1

Res.	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Loss	9–1	Muin Gafurov	Decision (unanimous)	UFC 311	January 18, 2025	3	5:00	Inglewood, California, United States
Win	9–0	Carlos Vera	Decision (unanimous)	UFC 298	February 17, 2024	3	5:00	Anaheim, California, United States
Win	8–0	Fernie Garcia	Decision (unanimous)	UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. The Korean Zombie	August 26, 2023	3	5:00	Kallang, Singapore
Win	7–0	Toshiomi Kazama	KO (punch)	UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Spivac	February 4, 2023	1	0:33	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Won the Road to UFC Season 1 Bantamweight tournament. Performance of the Night.
Win	6–0	Shohei Nose	KO (punches)	Road to UFC Season 1: Episode 6	October 23, 2022	1	2:21	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	Road to UFC Season 1 Bantamweight tournament semifinal.
Win	5–0	Gugun Gusman	Submission (keylock)	Road to UFC Season 1: Episode 3	June 10, 2022	1	3:24	Kallang, Singapore	Road to UFC Season 1 Bantamweight tournament quarterfinal.
Win	4–0	Aleandro Caetano	Decision (unanimous)	LDH Martial Arts: Pound Storm	April 24, 2022	3	5:00	Tokyo, Japan
Win	3–0	Yasuyuki Nojiri	TKO (punches)	Shooto: 2022 Vol. 1	January 16, 2022	1	0:25	Tokyo, Japan
Win	2–0	Akuri Ronda	KO (head kick)	Shooto: 2021 Vol. 5	July 25, 2021	2	0:20	Tokyo, Japan
Win	1–0	Takumi Arai	KO (punch)	LDH Martial Arts: Fighting Dreamers	May 15, 2021	1	0:42	Tokyo, Japan	Bantamweight debut.

Freestyle record

Senior Freestyle Matches
Res.	Record	Opponent	Score	Date	Event	Location
2019 Japan Nationals at 65 kg
Loss	36–9	Takuto Otoguro	TF 0–10	19–22 December 2019	2019 Japanese National Championships	Tokyo, Japan
Win	36–8	Takuma Taniyama	TF 11–0
Win	35–8	Masakazu Kamoi	9–5
Win	34–8	Isojiro	TF 11–0
Win	33–8	Yamato Hagiwara	4–2
2018 Japan Nationals at 65 kg
Win		Rei Higuchi	INJ	20–23 December 2018	2018 Japanese National Championships	Tokyo, Japan
Win	32–8	Hirotaka Abe	8–3
Loss	31–8	Takuto Otoguro	TF 0–10
Win	31–7	Fukuda Toki	TF 12–2
Win	30–7	Takuya Funaki	TF 10–0
2018 Meiji Cup DNP at 65 kg
Loss		Hirotaka Abe	INJ	14–17 June 2018	2018 Meiji Cup (JPN World Team Trials)	Tokyo, Japan
Win	29–7	Koki Terada	13–7
2018 World Cup for Team JPN at 61 kg
Win	28–7	Sandeep Tomar	TF 11–0	7–8 April 2018	2018 World Cup	Iowa City, Iowa
Win	27–7	Lasha Lomtadze	9–2
2017 U23 World Championships at 61 kg
Win	26–7	Kuat Amirtaev	TF 12–2	21–26 November 2017	2017 U23 World Championships	Bydgoszcz, Poland
Win	25–7	Islam Dudaev	TF 10–0
Win	24–7	Husein Shakhbanau	10–4
Win	23–7	Gabriel Janatsch	TF 11–0
2017 World Championships 5th at 61 kg
Loss	22–7	Yowlys Bonne	Fall	25 August 2017	2017 World Championships	Paris, France
Win	22–6	Mykola Bolotňuk	TF 10–0
Win	21–6	Alibek Osmonov	TF 10–0
Loss	20–6	Haji Aliyev	1–10
Win	20–5	Andrei Prepeliţă	7–3
2017 Meiji Cup at 61 kg
Win	19–5	Rei Higuchi	9–5	16–18 June 2017	2017 Meiji Cup (JPN World Team Trials)	Tokyo, Japan
Win	18–5	Rei Higuchi	14–5
Win	17–5	Shoya Shimae	TF 10–0
Win	16–5	Sakaki Daimu	TF 10–0
2017 Dan Kolov - Nikola Petrov International 9th at 61 kg
Loss	15–5	Timur Aitkulov	Fall	8–9 April 2017	2017 Dan Kolov - Nikola Petrov Memorial	Madrid, Spain
Win	15–4	Kairat Amirtayev	TF 12–1
Win	14–4	Amar Laissaoui	Fall
2016 Meiji Cup at 57 kg
Win	13–4	Yuki Takahashi	TF 10–0	27–29 May 2016	2016 Meiji Cup (JPN World Team Trials)	Tokyo, Japan
Win	12–4	Gaku Akazawa	TF 10–0
Win	11–4	Toshihiro Hasegawa	TF 10–0
2015 Japan Nationals at 57 kg
Win	10–4	Yasuhiro Morita	TF 10–0	21–23 December 2015	2015 Japanese National Championships	Tokyo, Japan
Loss	9–4	Rei Higuchi	6–8
Win	9–3	Gaku Akazawa	TF 14–4
Win	8–3	Yasuhiro Inaba	TF 10–0
2015 Spain Grand Prix at 57 kg
Loss	7–3	Sung Gwon Kim	0–1	11 July 2015	2015 Grand Prix of Spain	Madrid, Spain
Win	7–2	Juan Pablo Gonzalez	9–1
Win	6–2	Marco Coetzee	TF 10–0
Win	5–2	Amin Nouri	TF 13–2
2015 Meiji Cup at 57 kg
Win	4–2	Yasuhiro Morita	TF 11–0	19–21 June 2015	2015 Meiji Cup (JPN World Team Trials)	Tokyo, Japan
Loss	3–2	Yuki Takahashi	0–5
Win	3–1	Kazuaki Oshiro	TF 10–0
Win	2–1	Toshihiro Hasegawa	TF 14–4
2014 Japan Nationals DNP at 57 kg
Loss	1–1	Fumitaka Morishita	2–4	21–23 December 2014	2014 Japanese National Championships	Tokyo, Japan
Win	1–0	Rei Kuwagi	9–7

See also

• List of current UFC fighters
• List of male mixed martial artists

References

1. "Stats | UFC". ufcstats.com. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
2. "Keisuke Sasu squeezes past Ryoji Kudo to claim featherweight crown at Shooto 0725 | Asian MMA". AsianMMA. 2021-07-26. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
3. Gallo, Ed (2020-04-03). "Wrestling breakdown: U23 World champion Rinya Nakamura announces transition to MMA". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
4. Peter Leghorn (July 23, 2021). "Shooto 2021 Vol5, Sunday 25th. Sasuke vs Kudo Featherweight Title Match!". mma-japan.net.
5. "Japan Wrestling Federation - 日本レスリング協会公式サイト - JWF". www.japan-wrestling.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-07-28.
6. Peter Leghorn (January 13, 2022). "Shooto 2022 Volume1, Sunday 16th, Generations Clash as Seasoned Veterans and Hot Prospects Collide". mma-japan.net.
7. Dudy, Deepak. "U 23 Wrestling World Champion Rinya Nakamura Entering In MMA » FirstSportz". firstsportz.com. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
8. "Rinya Nakamura | MMA Fighter Page". Tapology. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
9. Andrew Whitelaw (July 26, 2021). "Keisuke Sasu squeezes past Ryoji Kudo to claim featherweight crown at Shooto 0725". asianmma.com.
10. Andrew Whitelaw (January 17, 2022). "Kota Onojima outpoints Nobuki Fujii at Shooto 0116". asianmma.com.
11. 【POUND STORM】中村倫也がカエタノに判定勝ち「絶対にUFCのトップに立てる」、大尊が宇佐美正に判定勝ち、河名が修斗世界1位の山本に勝利、齋藤が風間を必然の跳びヒザTKO！ 岩﨑が三上に判定勝ち、狩野が一本勝ち GONG格闘技 2022年4月24日
12. Tabuena, Anton (2022-05-23). "Road to UFC: Four Asian tournament brackets, non-tournament bouts finalized". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
13. "'Road to UFC' video: Rinya Nakamura mangles Gugun Gusman's arm with brutal kimura". MMA Junkie. 2022-06-10. Retrieved 2022-06-10.
14. "UFC Announces Road to UFC Semifinals". Ultimate Fighting Championship. 2022-09-30. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
15. Tabuena, Anton (2022-10-22). "Road to UFC semi-finals: Episode 5-6 full results, brackets, videos". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
16. "Road to UFC Final moved to Las Vegas". Asian MMA. 2023-01-05. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
17. Shawn Bitter (2023-01-04). "UFC Vegas 68: Rinya Nakamura wins Road to UFC Bantamweight tournament, KO's Toshiomi Kazama". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
18. "UFC Fight Night 218 bonuses: Serghei Spivac's domination worthy of an extra $50,000". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. 2023-02-05. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
19. "Rinya Nakamura faces Fernie Garcia on August 26th". asianmma.com. May 21, 2023.
20. Theodosi, Jamie (2023-08-26). "Rinya Nakamura Impresses Once Again, Dominating Fernie Garcia Over Three Rounds". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
21. "Rinya Nakamura faces Brady Hiestand at UFC 298". Asian MMA. 2023-12-19. Retrieved 2023-12-19.
22. Nolan King (2024-01-20). "Rinya Nakamura gets new UFC 298 opponent: TUF 31 alum Carlos Vera". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
23. Shawn Bitter (2024-02-17). "Rinya Nakamura Continues Unbeaten Streak at UFC 298, Injures Hand Against Carlos Vera". casesidepress.com. Retrieved 2024-02-17.
24. Parviz Iskenderov (2024-10-05). "UFC 311 set for January with first two fights reported". fightmag.com. Retrieved 2024-10-05.
25. Jay Anderson (2025-01-18). "UFC 311: Another Perfect Record Falls As Muin Gafurov Soundly Defeats Rinya Nakamura". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2025-01-18.
26. Thomas Gerbasi (December 19, 2023). "The Newcomers - 2023 UFC.com Awards". Ultimate Fighting Championship.