Fresh off of a victory this past month, three-time Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup Champion Rena Kubota returns to the ring at Shoot Boxing 2013: “Tomohiro Oikawa Retirement Event” on December 23rd in Osaka, Japan. Kubota is set to face Korean kickboxing champion Jiwaen Lee on the card.

Shoot Boxing officials announced plans for the featured fight on Wednesday. Kubota’s top protégé, two-time Shoot Boxing JKS48 tournament winner Mio Tsumura, takes on Chihiro Kira in another matchup on the card. Tsumura defeated Kira’s sister, Yuuki, in the finals of this year’s JKS48 tournament.

Kubota (23-5-1 SB/KB) has maintained an active fighting schedule since she returned from an injury hiatus this summer. She did not take part in this year’s Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup tournament, but did compete in a single fight against Dutch standout Lorena “Lady Pitbull” Klijn on the card. Kubota prevailed via Majority Decision after an extension round. She most recently ran her winning streak to seven with a three-round Unanimous Decision victory over late replacement opponent Maylee Won. Pomas on November 16th.

Lee (16-1-0 KB) is one of the top female strikers in Korea today and she should provide a solid test for Kubota on the feet. On October 31, 2010, a 15-year-old Lee defeated two opponents in one night to win the J-Girls Korea 50kg title tournament. She has won four of her five fights since then and is renowned for her quick and powerful high kicks. Now 18, Lee travels to Japan for her biggest fight to date against promotional superstar Kubota.

In a potential revenge bout, Tsumura (10-1-0 SB) faces Kira (5-2-1 KB/SB) on the preliminary card. On August 3rd, Tsumura defeated Comachi and Kira’s sister, Yuuki, in succession to become a two-time winner of the Shoot Boxing JKS48 high school girls’ tournament. She needed just 68 seconds to knock out Yuuki in the tournament final. Kira now looks to avenge her sister’s crushing defeat when she takes on Tsumura in four days. In her most recent kickboxing fight, Kira scored a Unanimous Decision win over Kaoru Chatani at Deep Kick 17.

Shoot Boxing 2013: “Tomohiro Oikawa Retirement Event” takes place on December 23rd at Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium in Osaka, Japan.

(Photo Credit: Shoot Boxing)