Rena Kubota has changed things up ahead of her return at RIZIN Landmark 9 next month (March 23, 2024).
Luck wasn’t on Kubota’s side in the latter half of 2022 and 2023. The 32-year-old Japanese superstar striker was injured out of the Super Atomweight Grand Prix before she suffered an upset loss to Claire Lopez via third round kneebar. 1-2 in her last three fights (13-5 overall), Kubota knew a shake-up was necessary if she ever wants to get her hands on RIZIN Fighting Federation gold.
Kubota looks to rebound against South Korea’s YuRi Shim in her next time out. To prepare, she relocated to Thailand for her first full training camp at the famous Tiger Muay Thai gym. America was an admitted possible option, but ultimately, the striker vs. striker match up led the former queen of ShootBox to the striking haven she now finds herself in.
MMA Mania on BROADENED HORIZIN. “There’s not too many distractions. So, I’m actually thinking right now, I think it’s a very good environment and I’m thinking maybe I should set up fight camp here every time.
“But I also want to go out and party, too,” she laughed.
The Lopez loss was a pivotal one for Kubota. Although a loss on her record was nothing new, nor was one by submission, it was her first via a joint lock. It was Lopez’s debut in RIZIN and come the third and final round, the veteran fighter of 17 years had a new experience.
“I kind of lost my full-on desire to win in the third round,” Kubota said. “I don’t know why, but I felt it. I completely lost focus, which resulted in myself getting finished.
“I don’t want to discredit Claire at all but that loss was strictly my fault and I take full blame for it,” she concluded.
Enjoying her time with the new team, Kubota is treating the loss as a positive overall. Having long wanted to get her hands on the reigning undefeated best Atomweight on Earth, Seika Izawa, Kubota hopes a Shim win can kickstart a strong 2024 that culminates with that title fight.
“It was actually my first time feeling that way,” Kubota added on the Lopez loss. “Just completely lost my desire to win. When you say takeaways, maybe me realizing my current environment isn’t enough. That might be the biggest takeaway [from the loss].
“That’s why I kind of had to rethink how to get back in the fight game and I decided to come here to prepare for my fight camp,” she continued. “I want to push myself to a point where it’s not worth losing. I’ve invested my time and effort and money into this so much, it’s not worth losing. I have to win. I want to gain that hunger, that drive back by putting myself out here.”
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