About Rinya Nakamura

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. 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.

Background
Rinya is the son of Kozo Nakamura, who was involved in the early development of Shooto in the 90's. 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. 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. 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.