Rena Kubota overcame some early adversity and made her case for a future title shot with a punishing second-round TKO win tonight at Rizin Fighting Federation: “Super Rizin 3” in Saitama, Japan. Kubota stopped Deep Jewels prospect Kate “Lotus” Oyama in women’s super atomweight action.

Tonight’s victory was Kubota’s third in her past four fights for Rizin, where she has been a top star for close to nine years despite never holding the promotion’s women’s title. She hopes to get a shot at the 108-pound belt, which is currently held by champion Seika Izawa, sometime later this year.

Kubota (15-5-0) maintained a boxing-focused approach in the opening round, while Oyama (5-7-0) mixed up her strikes with leg kicks in addition to lead right hooks and straight left hands. Her punches caused some swelling around both of Kubota’s eyes, but Kubota was still landing the more powerful strikes and that provided her with an advantage in an otherwise competitive round.

In the second stanza, Oyama once again got off to a good start with early combinations, but Kubota began to take control as the round progressed. On two separate occasions, she backed Oyama into a corner and punished her with knees and left hooks to the liver. Oyama refused to give up, but Kubota continued to blast her with punches until referee Masato Fukuda finally intervened for the TKO stoppage at the 4:18 mark of round two.

Rena Kubota (left) and Kate “Lotus” Oyama (right) backstage following Super Rizin 3.

“I was anxious about this fight,” Kubota admitted when speaking backstage following her triumphant win. “If I was to lose, I would have lost everything. Kate has a good fighting spirit and the potential to be a star. I hurt my right leg and thumb before the fight, and we also clashed heads, but I continued to trade [punches] with her because I wanted to match her aggressive attitude.

“Today’s event was special with such a large audience,” Kubota added. “I expect that I may receive my chance [at the title], so I will train for that fight. I admit that Seika [Izawa] has great skill overall, but I want that chance.”

“[Kubota] has a strong Thai clinch,” Oyama remarked backstage following her defeat. “I thought I could hit her some [in the clinch], but she was strong. I did not expect to get stopped, but I looked down and so the referee intervened. I did not give up. Please cheer for me again.”

(Top Photo Credit: Rizin Fighting Federation)