Shoot Boxing Women’s Flyweight Champion Rena Kubota kicked off her pro MMA career with a sensational submission victory tonight at Rizin Fighting Federation 2 in Saitama, Japan. Kubota finished fellow striker Jleana Valentino with a flying armbar in the second round of their 51kg bout.

The popular Kubota, who is one of Japan’s biggest female combat sports stars, overcame a left hand injury that was aggravated very early in tonight’s bout. In other action, multi-time BJJ world champion Gabi Garcia knocked out pro wrestler Seini “Lei’D Tapa” Draughn in round one of a wild slugfest.

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Former Shoot Boxing Japan Women’s Flyweight Champion Ai Takahashi concluded her career with one of her biggest victories tonight at Shoot Boxing: “Ground Zero Tokyo 2015” in Tokyo, Japan. Takahashi avenged a past loss by edging out long-time shoot boxing rival Mizuki Inoue.

Following tonight’s victory, Takahashi, who had previously suffered three defeats against Inoue, announced her retirement from competition. In other action on the card, former J-Girls champion Gracyer Aki took a hard-fought Split Decision win over late replacement foe Akari “Union” Nakamura.

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Former Jewels champion Naho “Sugi Rock” Sugiyama got back on the winning track with a hard-fought Unanimous Decision victory on Monday at Deep Jewels 10 in Tokyo, Japan. Sugiyama’s superior striking allowed her to edge out rising star Mina Kurobe in Monday’s atomweight main event.

In the 105-pound co-main event, former Deep Jewels Strawweight Champion Emi Tomimatsu eked out a narrow Split Decision victory over Satomi “Sarami” Takano after three rounds. At strawweight, Emi “Kamikaze Angel” Fujino outpointed a game Nori Date, who was making her pro debut.

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Deep Jewels showcased its tenth all-female fight card on Monday afternoon at Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan. Deep Jewels 10 was headlined by an atomweight title contender’s bout between former long-time Jewels champ Naho “Sugi Rock” Sugiyama and once-beaten prospect Mina Kurobe.

In the Deep Jewels 10 atomweight co-feature, former strawweight champion Emi Tomimatsu took on Satomi “Sarami” Takano. Recent strawweight title challenger Emi “Kamikaze Angel” Fujino met Nori Date in a “Deep Jewels vs Team Date” bout. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the card.

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Fresh off of her title win in September, WPMF women’s pinweight champ Saya Ito returns to action on December 19th at Martial Arts Tournament 1 in Tokyo, Japan. Ito is set to battle fellow 16-year-old Rojana, a Thai champion who has yet to taste defeat, in one of four women’s bouts on the card.

Also confirmed for the MAT 1 card is a featured matchup between current WPMF and J-Girls Bantamweight Champion Madoka Jinnai and Kwanchai Sor.Tawanrung. J-Girls Flyweight Champion Rena Matsuda faces Lorena “Lady Pitbull” Klijn, and “Crusher” Keiko Matsukawa takes on Mizuno Shiho.

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2014 Shoot Boxing Japan Girls S-Cup Champion Yukari Yamaguchi claimed her first kickboxing title with her biggest victory to date tonight at J-Network: “J-Girls & J-Fight 2015 6th” in Tokyo, Japan. The 17-year-old Yamaguchi defeated Momi Furuta to win the J-Girls Mini Flyweight Championship.

Yamaguchi put together an impressive run this past year that culminated with her Girls S-Cup tournament victory, but she remained focused on fighting her way to a kickboxing title. Tonight, she outstruck longstanding champion Furuta for five rounds en route to capturing J-Girls title gold.

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Four-time Girls S-Cup winner and reigning Shoot Boxing Women’s Flyweight Champion Rena Kubota is set to make her long-awaited MMA debut next month during the Rizin Fighting World Grand Prix in Saitama, Japan. Kubota battles fellow kickboxer and MMA debutant Jleana Valentino in a 51kg bout.

Rizin officials announced the matchup today. Kubota most recently captured Shoot Boxing’s women’s flyweight world title in August by stopping Kane Chopirom at the 2015 Girls S-Cup. Italy’s Valentino is a formidable striker who seeks to upset one of Japan’s biggest female stars next month.

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Reigning Deep Women’s Flyweight Champion “Princess” Satoko Shinashi earned her sixth straight stoppage win on Saturday night at Deep: “73 Impact” in Tokyo, Japan. The diminutive grappler submitted South Korean pro debutant Hee Da Choi in a back-and-forth 44kg matchup on the card.

Shinashi has drawn criticism for taking on inexperienced opponents since returning to the ring this past October following a six-year retirement. Her bout with Choi was more competitive than many had predicted, but Shinashi secured a fight-ending rear-naked choke midway through the second round.

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