Saori Oshima vs Haruka Hasegawa Announced For Rizin FF 43Two-division Deep and Deep Jewels titleholder Saori Oshima will compete at her fifth different weight as a professional on June 24th at Rizin Fighting Federation 43 in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. Oshima faces new Strawweight Queen of Pancrase Haruka “Salt” Hasegawa in a 115-pound matchup.

The champion versus champion bout was officially announced for the card along with a second women’s matchup. Deep Jewels veterans Marina Kumagai and Aoi Kuriyama will meet in a bantamweight bout. Kumagai has won three straight, while Kuriyama looks to rebound from a February defeat.

 

Oshima (11-3-0) sports a 2-0 Rizin record with Split Decision victories over Kanna Asakura and Miyuu Yamamoto. She is the current holder of both the Deep Women’s Microweight Championship at 97 pounds and the Deep Jewels Atomweight Championship at 105. She has also competed in super atomweight bouts at 108 pounds for Rizin and 110 pounds for Shooto, and will now move up to her highest fighting weight to date in order to take on Hasegawa next month. Oshima has won eight of her past nine fights and is one of the top female competitors in Japan.

Hasegawa (3-2-0) kicked off her pro career this past year for Shooto, where she posted a modest 1-2 record for the promotion. In December, she was brought in by Pancrase to face then-strawweight champion Karen in a non-title bout at Pancrase 330. To the surprise of many, Hasegawa upset Karen via Unanimous Decision, then repeated that feat for a second time at Pancrase 333 two weeks ago to become the new Strawweight Queen of Pancrase. Despite that recent success, Hasegawa will still be a significant underdog for her Rizin FF debut against Oshima.

 

Kumagai (3-4-0) went winless in her first four pro fights, but she has experienced a career turnaround since late 2021 and has now put together a three-fight winning streak. She most recently competed at Deep Jewels 39 in December and handed prospect Chieko Hosoya her first defeat via a Unanimous Decision. Kumagai now seeks her fourth consecutive win when she makes her Rizin FF debut.

Kuriyama (4-5-1) also struggled early in her career before bouncing back with two wins for Deep Jewels this past year and a Draw with Nori in her lone Pancrase appearance at Pancrase 328. Kuriyama’s momentum was halted in her most recent fight, however, as she succumbed to a rear-naked choke from Deep Jewels Flyweight Champion Rin Nakai in a non-title bout at Deep Jewels 40.

Rizin Fighting Federation 43 is set to take place on June 24th at Makomanai Sekisui Heim Ice Arena in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.