, better known by her ring name RENA (stylized in capital letters) or Reina, is a professional Japanese shoot wrestler, kickboxer and mixed martial artist, currently competing in the strawweight division of Rizin.
A professional competitor since 2007, Kubota previously competed as a kickboxer in the flyweight division of Shootboxing. She is a record six-time Shootboxing Girls S-Cup tournament winner, having won every tournament she took part in, and is the former Shootboxing flyweight champion.
Sherdog ranked her as a top ten atomweight between October 18, 2017 and May 24, 2021, while Fight Matrix ranked her as a top ten atomweight between July 1, 2017 and January 1, 2018. She was furthermore ranked as a top ten pound for pound kickboxer by Combat Press between November 2016 and June 2017, as well as between August 2017 and May 2018.
Kickboxing career
Early life
Kubota was born in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan on . She began training at Oikawa Dojo when she was a sixth grader.
Early career
Kubota made her kickboxing debut in the all-female promotion J-Girls at New Heroine Coming! on . She lost a split decision to Asami Furuya in the flyweight New Heroine tournament semi-final. Kubota fought once more in J-Girls in the World Queen Tournament and defeated Mika Nagai by decision on .
Kubota's next bout was her first in shoot boxing. She defeated Kanako Oka by decision at Shoot Boxing 2007 Mu-So 5th on . Kubota won her next two fights in the Road to S-Cup series.
On , Kubota fought to a draw with MMA fighter Miku Matsumoto in the Deep promotion in a kickboxing match at ClubDEEP Toyama Barbarian Festival 7. Kubota then returned to shoot boxing and won an extra-round decision against Misato Tomita on .
Kubota's next fight, her second professional loss, came in a rematch against Miku Matsumoto at the Shoot Boxing World Tournament 2008 on . Matsumoto won the fight by unanimous decision. Kubota then made her debut in K-1 at K-1 Award & MAX Korea 2009 on . She was defeated via extra-round split decision against South Korean Muay Thai kickboxer Su Jeong Lim. The bout was Kubota's only fight for the promotion.
Kubota debuted in the Jewels promotion in a shoot boxing match at Jewels 4th Ring on . She defeated Tomoko SP by decision.
2009 Shootboxing Girls S-Cup
Kubota returned to shoot boxing and won her first Girls S-Cup title, at only 18 years old, at the 2009 Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup on . She defeated Masako Yoshida by decision, Saori Ishioka by TKO and finally Mei Yamaguchi by decision to win the tournament.
After winning the Girls S-Cup, Kubota won fights against Emi Fujino by TKO (doctor stoppage), Australian Christina Jurjevic by decision and Mika Nagai by decision in a rematch from their 2007 fight.
2010 Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup
Kubota was scheduled to face kickboxing and MMA legend Hisae Watanabe on , but Kubota broke her finger and Watanabe faced an alternate opponent. The two would finally meet on during the 2010 Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup. Kubota stunned everyone including Watanabe with her speed and aggressiveness. The #2-ranked Watanabe had been very confident of winning, but Kubota shocked everyone with her powerful performance and she defeated Watanabe by TKO. Kubota delivered a devastating knee to the body which caused Watanabe to fall to her knees. Watanabe was holding her stomach and was in severe pain and unable to continue the match.
Kubota went on to defeat American MMA fighter Kate Martinez by decision in the semi-final, then defeated Ai Takahashi by decision after two extra rounds in the final to win her second straight Girls S-Cup.
After her second victory of the Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup, Kubota appeared at the pre-recorded TV program on TBS on , where she faced and defeated male comedians Yu Shinagawa, Hidetsugu Shibata and Koji Imada in exhibition bouts. While the show averaged 11.8% of TV rating, her appearance had the highest rating, 16.8%, and her ring name became the second-highest searched for keyword on Google Japan the next day.
Kubota was scheduled to fight South Korean fighter Sun Young Kim on , at Shoot Boxing 2011 Act 2 in Tokyo, but Kim withdrew from the bout. As a result, Kubota faced J-Girls rising talent Erika Kamimura in an exhibition match in which Rena was knocked down once by her younger opponent in a single three-minute round, which surprised fans and pundits alike.
Kubota faced Ai Takahashi again in a five-round title fight at Shoot Boxing 2011 Act 3 on . She was defeated by unanimous decision.