Rena Wins Shootboxing’s Girls S-Cup 2010
via SportsNavi.jp
For the second year in a row, Rena stands tall as the queen of Japanese kickboxing. The Shootboxing star won her 2nd straight Girls S-Cup, Shootboxing’s female version of their hallmark S-Cup tournament.
Rena’s path to becoming the 2010 S-Cup Champion was an impressive run. In the quarter-finals, Rena faced MMA star Hisae Watanabe, the clear #2 in Shootboxing. Rena v. Watanabe was scheduled for earlier this year, but had to be canceled due to an injury suffered by Rena. Shootboxing has been looking to put this fight together for some time, and made sure it happened here by including it in the quarter final round. In the anticipated fight, Rena put in a powerful performance, scoring a 2nd round TKO via knees.
From there, Rena faced Gracie fighter Kate Martinez in the semi-finals, defeating Martinez by unanimous decision. In the other semi-final, Ai Takahashi defeated V Hajime, setting up a Takahashi v. Rena final. That final turned out to be an epic showdown, going through two extra rounds before Rena finally scored the unanimous decision, successfully defending her S-Cup crown. At only 19 years of age, Rena has already begun establishing a real legacy in Shootboxing.
Where she goes from here is a good question, as she has cleaned out Shootboxing’s women’s division over the past two years. It will be interesting to see who Shootboxing brings in to challenge her, and if she begins moving beyond their rings.
The other notable S-Cup fight pitted Hiroko Yamanaka against Sandy Furner in an MMA fight. Hiroko was originally set to face Olympian Randi Miller, but Furner stepped in as a late replacement when Miller was injured. Yamanaka looked good here, defeating Furner in just under 2 minutes via choke. Yamanaka has been eying a move to Strikeforce for some time and looking to challenge Christiane Cyborg. A win here puts her a step closer.
Full results after the jump.
Girls S-Cup 2010
Finals: Rena def. Ai Takahashi, DEC, 2 Ext. R
Semi-Finals: Rena def.Kate Martinez, DEC
Semi-Finals: Ai Takahashi def. V Hajime, DEC, ER
Quarter-Finals: Ai Takahashi def. Christine Jurjevic, DEC
Quarter-Finals: V Hajime def. Samanta Van Dole, choke, Rd. 3
Quarter-Finals: Kate Martinez def. Zaza Sor. Aree, Choke, Rd. 3
Quarter-Finals: Rena def. Hisae Watanabe, TKO, Rd. 1
MMA: Hiroko Yamanaka def. Sandy Furner, choke, Rd. 1
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