Bantamweight, Rinya Nakamura (3-0)
Pros
- Scrambles well
- Fast starter
- Good back take
- Excellent wrestling
- Good movement
Cons
- N/A
Nakamura is another decorated wrestler with a lot of experience before transitioning to MMA. He won a bronze medal at the 2011 Cadet World Championship, a 2016 & 2017 Meiji Cup champion, and the 2017 U23 World Championship, and has a 37-10 freestyle record (at least from what’s listed).
Of his three fights only two have film so it would be nice to know how that first fight went. Of what’s available it’s hard not to be impressed. He’s a wrestler that has some real skills on the feet. Not many fighters who are primarily wrestlers will be found knocking guys out with a head kick, and Nakamura has done that. Along with good footwork, speed, and output Nakamura is dangerous on the feet.
Wrestling is where he shines however. Nakamura shoots low on the legs as it’s harder to defend. He’s good at cutting the corner sneaking to the back as well. The way he’s always attacking the legs is nice to see. Nakamura still has questionable top control but his grappling looks good. He floats on top and scrambles really well. He’s only 3-0 but early on I like the ceiling for this young man.
