2017 Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup Pre-Fight InterviewsWeigh-ins for the 2017 Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup took place today in Tokyo, Japan, and MMARising.com was on-site to speak with the competitors. This year’s S-Cup is headlined by a non-title 50kg bout between Shoot Boxing Women’s Flyweight Champion Rena Kubota and Jleana “Nikita” Valentino.

In the co-main event, Kubota’s teammate and protégé, two-time Girls S-Cup winner Mio Tsumura, takes on Hanna “Tyson” Gujwan. BJJ world champ Gabi Garcia battles Megumi Yabushita. Fighters on tomorrow’s S-Cup card provided brief interviews for media in attendance after weighing in today.

 

Takeshi Caesar (Shoot Boxing founder): “This is the ninth Girls S-Cup, and it is because of women like Rena that these events continue. This is the largest venue for a Girls S-Cup and tickets are selling well. It is rare for an all-female event to draw such a good crowd.”

Rena Kubota: “I will rock the audience with my fight. I will knock [Valentino] out to make the audience loud, but I like her as a person and a fighter. I felt that she was strong when we fought in MMA [for Rizin in 2015]. It’s easier now when I don’t have to think about grappling, but she showed a lot of heart in our MMA fight and so I expect a difficult fight tomorrow.”

Jleana Valentino: “I like and respect Rena. This is my first time competing in shoot boxing, but I will knock her out. She is strong, but I will win and I will come back to Japan to compete again just like I did after we fought for Rizin.”

Mio Tsumura: “I am really looking forward to facing Hanna. I want to show the audience how hard lighter weight fighters can hit. She looks powerful but I won’t lose.”

Hanna Gujwan: “I’m glad that I was able to come back to Japan. I have trained hard. Mio is a fantastic champion with speed, but I will win with my power that is stronger than hers.”

Gabi Garcia: “I love the challenge of this [shoot boxing] match for having fought for such a short time. I will punch more when [Yabushita] strikes to overwhelm her. I know that she has beaten opponents who were much bigger than her before, but I will knock her out tomorrow.”

Megumi Yabushita: “I wanted to fight Gabi for Rizin when Kandori was injured but I couldn’t. Finally, I can fight her, and I am so glad. She is huge!”

 

Akari Nakamura: “My opponent [Shi-yoon Jeong] has a title belt in Korea, but I will show that shoot boxers are on another level. I will make an impact at the Girls S-Cup.”

Mina Sakurai: “I will show the audience a beatdown [against Sugiyama].”

Shizuka Sugiyama: “Say what you like, Mina, but tomorrow people will know.”

Yoko Odamaki: “I will be cautious of my opponent’s [Ayaka Miura’s] throws because she is an MMA fighter, but I will win the striking battles. My opponent did not look strong today, but I expect her to have more power tomorrow.”