Rena Kubota will seek her second victory of 2024 when she competes on July 28th at Rizin Fighting Federation: “Super Rizin 3” in Saitama, Japan. Kubota faces off against Deep Jewels prospect Kate “Lotus” Oyama, who makes her promotional debut, in a featured super atomweight matchup.
The bout between Kubota and Oyama was officially announced during Rizin FF 47 today. Kubota has had ups and downs in recent fights, but she has won six of her past eight bouts and remains a top star for Rizin. Oyama is coming off of her biggest victory to date at Deep Jewels 44 in March.
Kubota (14-5-0) returned to action on March 23rd following an 11-month injury hiatus and defeated former Road FC champion Yu Ri Shim at Rizin FF: “Landmark Vol. 9.” The win was a crucial one for the former Shoot Boxing star, who had suffered a disappointing and damaging third-round submission loss to Claire Lopez at “Landmark Vol. 5” that kept her sidelined with a knee injury. Kubota has been competing in MMA since New Year’s Eve 2015, but her professional combat sports career dates all the way back to a July 1, 2007 kickboxing match. The veteran will take another step closer to Rizin title contention with a victory next month.
Oyama (5-6-0) has completely changed her physique since debuting in Deep Jewels as a flyweight in late 2020. She opened her pro career with a 2-4 record, and dropping down to strawweight did not provide the turnaround that she had hoped for, but a continued move down to 110 pounds and ultimately to the 108-pound super atomweight division has been much more successful. Oyama’s most recent performance was clearly her best, and she stopped long-time veteran Yuko Kiryu just 88 seconds into their co-main event bout at Deep Jewels 44. Oyama stated that she felt that she would still need to further improve her record before receiving a call from Rizin, but that call came earlier than expected and she will debut in a high-profile matchup against Kubota.
Rizin FF: “Super Rizin 3” takes place on July 28th at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
(Photo Credit: Rizin Fighting Federation)