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.
Seika Izawa remained undefeated and scored a second-round submission victory tonight at Rizin Fighting Federation 45 in Saitama, Japan. The reigning Rizin FF Women’s Super Atomweight Champion finished the retiring Miyuu Yamamoto with a rear-naked choke in non-title 49kg action.
Pancrase celebrated its 30th anniversary with a stacked card featuring three championship fights on Sunday at the Yokohama Budokan in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. Pancrase 340 was headlined by a Welterweight King of Pancrase bout between champ Genpei Hayashi and Ryuichiro Sumimura.
Shooto showcased its second “Colors” event on Saturday afternoon at Toyosu PIT in Tokyo, Japan. The all-female card was headlined by a Shooto Women’s Atomweight Championship rematch between undefeated champ Chihiro Sawada and Miku Nakamura, who had won four straight fights.
Alex “Poatan” Pereira captured his second UFC title on November 11th in the main event of UFC 295 in New York City. The former middleweight champion stopped Jiří “Denisa” Procházka late in the second round to claim the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship and the #2 spot at 205 pounds.
A non-title women’s super atomweight bout between Rizin champion Seika Izawa and Miyuu Yamamoto has been added to Rizin Fighting Federation 45, which takes place on December 31st in Saitama, Japan. The fight, originally planned to take place in May, was officially announced today.
Former professional baseball player Arisa Matsuda kept her perfect MMA record intact with a narrow Split Decision victory today at Deep Jewels 43 in Tokyo, Japan. Matsuda edged out former amateur rival Machi Fukuda in the main event to win the Deep Jewels Interim Strawweight Championship.
Deep Jewels returned to New Pier Hall in Tokyo, Japan on Thursday for its latest all-female fight card. Deep Jewels 43 was headlined by an interim strawweight title rematch between unbeaten rising stars Arisa Matsuda and Machi Fukuda, who first clashed as amateur fighters two years ago.