Kenta Nanbara

Kenta Nanbara (; born May 2, 1998) is a Japanese Kyokushin karateka and light heavyweight kickboxer competing in RISE, where he is the Light Heavyweight champion. As a karateka, he is a silver medalist in the team competition at the World Kyokushin Karate Championships and the Japanese championship.

Karate career Nanbara competed at the 2008 World Junior Championships, where he faced Tenshin Nasukawa.

Nanbara finished third at the 2015 Japan Championships in the super heavyweight division, defeating Ryoma Yamakawa in the third place match. In July 2015, he won silver at the World Championships team event, where Nanbara competed in the youth kumite division. He also competed in the three-day World Championships in November, where Nanbara advanced to the top 32. He lost in the first round of the final day to Yaroslav Stanislavenko after a tiebreaker by judges' vote. Nanbara was awarded the tournament's best young fighter.

Nanbara won silver at the 2018 Japan Championships in the super heavyweight division after losing to Anton Gulyaev in the final.

Kickboxing career Nanbara switched to kickboxing after signing with RISE. He made his promotional debut and faced Yumi Sano on July 28, 2021, at RISE 151. He won the bout by knockout in the third round.

Nanbara faced Kontualai JMBoxinggym for the vacant RISE Light Heavyweight championship, in the RISE Light Heavyweight Tournament finals on August 18, 2023, at RISE 171. He won the bout by knockout in the second round to win the tournament and vacant title.

Nanbara faced Victor de Koning on December 16, 2023, at RISE World Series 2023 - Final Round. He won the bout by knockout, after an extra fourth round was contested.

Championships and accomplishments Kickboxing RISE 2023 RISE Light Heavyweight (-90kg) Championship One successful title defense 2023 RISE Fight of the Year (vs. Kongtualai JMBoxing)

Karate IKO Kyokushinkaikan 6x IKO International Karate Friendship Championships Winner (2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015) 2012 IKO All Japan Junior Championships (U-13) Winner 2013 IKO All Japan Junior Championships (U-14) Winner 2014 IKO All Japan Junior Championships (U-15) Winner 2014 IKO International Youth Championships (U-15) Winner 2015 IKO World Youth Elite Championships (U-17) Winner 2015 IKO All Japan Weight Championships Super Heavyweight 3rd place 2018 IKO All Japan Weight Championships Super Heavyweight Runner-up 2022 IKO All Japan Weight Championships Heavyweight (-90kg) Winner

Kickboxing record