Returning from a knee injury that kept her out of action since April, Rena Kubota will next compete on March 23rd at Rizin Fighting Federation 46 in Kobe, Hyōgo, Japan. Kubota will face off against former Road FC Women’s Atomweight Champion Yu Ri Shim in a 49kg super atomweight matchup.

The bout was officially announced on New Year’s Eve during Rizin FF 45. Kubota is coming off of a third-round kneebar submission loss to Claire Lopez at Rizin FF: “Landmark Vol. 5” and looks to rebound against Shim, who returns to action following a layoff dating back to September 2021.

Kubota (13-5-0) amassed a solid four-fight winning streak in Rizin between October 2019 and November 2021 that included three TKO victories, with the last of which coming against Miyuu Yamamoto at Rizin FF 32. Her momentum was halted when she dropped a Unanimous Decision to Si Woo Park at Rizin FF 33, but Kubota returned to action this past July and picked up a hard-fought decision win against Anastasiya Svetkivska. Her hopes to advance into super atomweight title contention were dashed by Lopez, however, who submitted Kubota with a nasty kneebar when they fought in April.

Shim (6-3-0) has been out of action since she won the Road FC Women’s Atomweight Championship with a razor-thin Split Decision victory in a rematch against Jeong Eun Park, who had defeated Shim in the pair’s first meeting in December 2019. Prior to that defeat, Shim had won three straight fights in 2018 including back-to-back victories in Road FC in November and December. Shim has not fought since she won the title against Park, and the belt was stripped from Shim upon her signing with Rizin. Shim will now look to start a new chapter in her career when she makes her Rizin FF debut.

Rizin Fighting Federation 46 takes place on March 23rd at World Memorial Hall in Kobe, Hyōgo, Japan.

(Photo Credit: Rizin Fighting Federation)