The 2018 Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup took place tonight at Tokyo Dome City Hall in Tokyo, Japan. The event was headlined by a 51kg mixed martial arts bout between Shoot Boxing Women’s Flyweight Champion and four-time Girls S-Cup winner Rena Kubota and Brazilian Elaine “Pantera” Leal.

In 48kg tournament action, standout striker Jleana “Nikita” Valentino upset two-time Girls S-Cup winner Mio Tsumura in the final round. Rizin FF star “King” Reina Miura took on Young Ji Kim once again in a 66kg shoot boxing matchup. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the Girls S-Cup.

51kg MMA Bout – 3×5

Rena Kubota vs Elaine “Pantera” Leal

Round 1:

Referee for this bout is Masato Fukuda. Leal begins with a Yellow Card for missing weight. Kubota flurried with punches to open the fight and Leal countered by clinching in the corner. She took Kubota down and landed hammerfists, then jumped into a flying guillotine choke as the fighters stood up. Leal pulled guard with the choke, but Kubota stayed calm and worked her way free. Leal switched to a triangle choke, but it was loose and Kubota tried to stand to escape. Leal locked on an armbar and Kubota countered with a slam and two stomps. She dropped down with a diving right hand and landed a knee to Leal’s head as the fight returned to the feet. Leal took Kubota back down, but Kubota used an omoplata to scramble and finished the round on top. 10-9 Leal.

Round 2:

Kubota dropped a fatigued Leal with punches in the second round and followed with soccer kicks and ground and pound. Leal looked to counter with a heel hook and she used it to pull Kubota down to the mat. Kubota eventually pulled her leg free and the referee stood the fighters up. Kubota punched to the body until Leal took her back in a corner. Kubota spun and cracked Leal with a right hand that briefly backed her up. After a stalemate in the corner, Leal caught a kick and backed Kubota up against the ropes until time expired. Very close round. 10-9 Kubota, barely.

Round 3:

Kubota hurt Leal with left hooks to the liver in the final round. Leal recovered and landed kick-punch combos, but Kubota pressed forward with another flurry. Leal clinched, but little transpired and the fighters were separated. Leal landed a nice combination and Kubota responded with a front kick. An exhausted Leal dove at Kubota’s leg and Kubota landed three soccer kicks in return. She forced Leal to return to her feet and the fighters clinched in a corner. Leal threw knees to the thighs and midsection until the referee called for a break. A right-left combo stunned Leal and Kubota rocked her again with a three-punch flurry. Leal fell after a failed clinch attempt and Kubota punched from a standing position over her. 10-9 Kubota due to the late rally.

Winner: Rena Kubota by Unanimous Decision after three 5:00 rounds. She improves to 7-1-0.

48kg Girls S-Cup Final – 3×3

Jleana “Nikita” Valentino vs Mio Tsumura

Round 1:

The fighters circled and traded cautious leg kicks in the opening half of round one. Valentino landed a quick combination and Tsumura responded with a throw, but it was not high enough to earn a Shoot Point. Valentino landed two body kicks and Tsumura answered with two of her own. A hard kick to the liver scored for Valentino just before time expired.

Round 2:

Tsumura struck first with a body kick in the second round and Valentino chopped away at her lead leg. Tsumura missed with a head kick and ate another leg kick in return. Valentino avoided Tsumura’s jabs, but Tsumura cracked her with an overhand right and dumped her to the mat. The close round ended with both women landing one-twos and Tsumura attempting a spinning backfist.

Round 3:

Valentino caught a kick and tripped Tsumura to the mat in the final round. Tsumura stood and Valentino landed a combination and a body kick. She followed with a straight left hand and shrugged off a Tsumura throw attempt. Spinning backfists were exchanged and Valentino avoided another throw. The fighters clinched and exchanged knees to the body, with Valentino landing the more damaging strikes. Tsumura missed with punches and Valentino put together a combination of punches and body kicks before the bell.

Winner: Jleana Valentino by Majority Decision (30-29, 30-29, 30-30) after three 3:00 rounds. She improves to 3-1-0 and becomes the 2018 Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup Champion.

66kg Non-Tournament Bout – 3×3

“King” Reina Miura vs Young Ji Kim

Round 1:

Referee for this bout is Ryogaku Wada. Kim flurried with punches right away and Miura looked to counter with a throw. Kim stayed on her feet and landed straight left hands and a spinning backfist. Miura teed off with a lengthy combination that backed Kim up against the ropes, but she stayed up and the fighters clinched in a corner. Miura landed a kick to the upper body and a right hand before the bell.

Round 2:

The second round began with an exchange of punches and Kim snapped Miura’s head back with a left cross. Miura kept her chin straight up in the air and Kim repeatedly tagged her with overhand punches. Miura answered with a head kick and a right cross that led to a failed throw attempt. Both women landed knees to the body in the dying seconds.

Round 3:

Kim opened the final round with a series of left hands that were countered by knee after knee to the body from Miura. The fighters brawled in the corner with wild punches and Kim missed with a spinning backfist. Miura backed her up with punches and Kim landed a chopping leg kick in return. Miura peppered her with punches and knees in close until the exhausted fighters were separated. Both women landed hard punches late in the fight.

Winner: Reina Miura by Majority Decision (30-28, 29-28, 29-29) after three 3:00 rounds.

48kg Girls S-Cup Semi-Final #2 – 3×3

Jleana “Nikita” Valentino vs Misaki Morita

Round 1:

Morita closed the distance right away and worked for throws from a clinch, but Valentino countered well with knees to the body and punches over the top. She landed a nice one-two and continued to punish Morita with knees in the clinch. Morita missed with a looping right hand and Valentino finished the round with a counter combination.

Round 2:

Valentino fought off more of Morita’s throw attempts in the second round. Morita would not give up on her pursuit of the throw, but she could not get Valentino down and Valentino landed counter knees and body kicks. The round ended with Valentino landing left and right hooks as Morita tried to close in for a clinch.

Round 3:

It was more of the same in round three and Valentino continued to fend off Morita’s attempts to throw her to the mat. Valentino’s superior striking allowed her to land quick combinations and knees to the body. She followed with a head kick that was partially blocked and followed with a spinning backfist. Time was called and Valentino was given a Yellow Card for what appeared to be holding behind the head. The bout continued and she landed more body kicks and knees until the end of the fight.

Winner: Jleana Valentino by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-28, 30-28) after three 3:00 rounds. She improves to 2-1-0 and advances to the final round of the 2018 Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup.

48kg Girls S-Cup Semi-Final #1 – 3×3

Mio Tsumura vs Kaewta Por Muangpetch

Round 1:

Tsumura showcased her boxing in the opening round and she repeatedly tagged Por Muangpetch with combinations. Tsumura backed Por Muangpetch up against the ropes and unloaded with hooks and uppercuts until Por Muangpetch pushed her away. Tsumura used a kick-punch combo to set up another flurry of hooks against the ropes. She caught a kick and landed a counter right hand before backing Por Muangpetch up with one-twos.

Round 2:

Tsumura kept Por Muangpetch on the defensive in the second round with front kicks and uppercuts. She chopped away at Por Muangpetch’s lead leg with kicks and threw her to the mat with a high-arc throw that earned the first Shoot Point of the night. Por Muangpetch returned to her feet and landed a right hook and a body kick before the bell.

Round 3:

The final round began with another throw from Tsumura, but it was not quite high enough to earn a point. The fighters traded body kicks and right hands until Tsumura dropped Por Muangpetch with a right cross. Por Muangpetch survived a standing-eight count and the fight continued with Tsumura landing a kick-punch combo.

Winner: Mio Tsumura by Unanimous Decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-26) after three 3:00 rounds. She improves to 35-3-0 and advances to the final round of the 2018 Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup.

65kg MMA Bout – 3×5

Mina Sakurai vs Sumanthar Beankham

Round 1:

Referee for this bout is Ryogaku Wada. Sakurai kept her distance and threw occasional kicks to Beankham’s lead and body early on. She stunned Beankham with a one-two that backed her up against the ropes. Beankham had a delayed reaction and fell to her knees, clearly unable to continue, and the fight was quickly waved off.

Winner: Mina Sakurai by TKO (Punches) at 2:17 of round one. She improves to 1-0-0.

48kg Girls S-Cup Quarterfinal #4 – 3×3

Jleana “Nikita” Valentino vs Manami “Manazou” Kobayashi

Round 1:

Valentino struck first with a body kick and a quick spinning backfist in round one. Kobayashi responded with kicks to the lead leg and upper body that led to a clinch, with both women throwing knees. Valentino used kicks to set up another clinch and she peppered Kobayashi with knees to the ribs. Kobayashi responded with a big right hand, but Valentino was unfazed and she continued to control the clinch battles with knees.

Round 2:

Round two picked up where the first left off with Valentino landing knees in a clinch. Kobayashi looked to counter with knees of her own, but Valentino landed the more significant strikes. A punch-kick combo scored for Kobayashi and the fighters traded strikes until Valentino floored Kobayashi with a vicious spinning backfist. Kobayashi barely made the standing-eight count, but the fight continued and Valentino landed a straight left hand late in the round.

Round 3:

Kobayashi went high with kicks in the final round as she hunted for a knockout, but Valentino countered well with straight punches. Both women landed spinning backfists and Valentino followed with another left cross. Kobayashi clinched and was met with knees to the body for her efforts. The fight ended with an exchange of knees in a clinch in the corner.

Winner: Jleana Valentino by Unanimous Decision (30-29, 29-28, 29-28) after three 3:00 rounds. She improves to 1-1-0 and advances to the semi-final round of the 2018 Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup.

48kg Girls S-Cup Quarterfinal #3 – 3×3

Misaki Morita vs Isis “Fight Queen” Verbeek

Round 1:

Morita caught a kick and immediately tried for a hip toss throw, but Verbeek slammed her down to the mat. Morita continued to work for throws, but it was Verbeek who spun and tossed her to the mat. There was not enough arc for a Shoot Point and the fighters continued to battled for headlock and hip toss throws. Verbeek missed with a jumping switch knee, but she landed a series of knees strikes in a clinch soon after. Morita responded with punches and both women tried unsuccessfully for throws.

Round 2:

The second round began with Morita attacking with a standing guillotine choke and a throw attempt. Both fighters failed to secure high-arc throws and fell to the mat. Verbeek landed a jumping switch kick, but Morita walked her down with punches and remained relentless with her throws. She cracked Verbeek with an overhand right and a fatigued Verbeek responded with a jumping knee. Morita attempted a late throw and was denied.

Round 3:

Morita rushed at Verbeek with flurries of punches in the final round. She was still unable to throw Verbeek with enough arc to earn a Shoot Point. Verbeek landed some nice knees to the body and Morita responded with two of her own. Both women landed body kicks and Verbeek secured a headlock throw, but the referee deemed that it was not high enough to earn a point. Morita teed off with punches and the fight ended with an exchange of knees to the body.

Winner: Misaki Morita by Majority Decision (30-28, 30-29, 29-29) after three 3:00 rounds. She advances to the semi-final round of the 2018 Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup.

48kg Girls S-Cup Quarterfinal #2 – 3×3

Kaewta Por Muangpetch vs Jujeath “Bad Girl” Nagaowa

Round 1:

Por Muangpetch used kicks to try to keep Nagaowa at bay in the early stages as Nagaowa pressed forward with looping punches. She clinched on three occasions, but Por Muangpetch prevented her from securing a throw. Nagaowa continued to fire off wild punches to the head and body, with mixed success, and Por Muangpetch landed a knee in close. Nagaowa continued to press the action with her combinations and Por Muangpetch landed two more counter knees in the final seconds.

Round 2:

Nagaowa rushed at Por Muangpetch with punches in round two, but Por Muangpetch trapped her in a Thai clinch and scored with a series of knees before the referee separated the fighters. Nagaowa threw right hooks to the body and closed the distance again, but she was once again thwarted by Por Muangpetch’s Thai clinch. Nagaowa used combinations to get past Por Muangpetch’s long kicks, but Por Muangpetch fought off a throw attempt and landed a knee just before the bell.

Round 3:

Nagaowa loaded up with hard right hands early in the final round, but Por Muangpetch blocked them and continued to score with knees to the head and body from a Thai clinch. She followed with a body kick and more knees as Nagaowa struggled to land anything cleanly. Por Muangpetch dominated the clinch battles with knees while thwarting Nagaowa’s attempts to throw her to the mat.

Winner: Kaewta Por Muangpetch by Split Decision (30-29, 29-28, 28-30) after three 3:00 rounds. She advances to the semi-final round of the 2018 Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup.

48kg Girls S-Cup Quarterfinal #1 – 3×3

Mio Tsumura vs Seo Hee “Wushu Princess” Lim

Round 1:

Referee for this bout is Naoyuki Taira. Cautious kicks were exchanged in the opening minute and the fighters clinched briefly against the ropes. Tsumura attempted a throw, but she was unable to earn a Shoot Point and Lim tagged her with hard combinations of punches after returning to her feet. Another solid flurry landed for Lim and Tsumura backed up. The fighters traded power punches before the bell.

Round 2:

Both women were aggressive with combinations to begin round two and Lim scored with a nice body kick. Tsumura tried to mix things up with side kicks and she attempted a belly-to-back suplex, but Lim stayed on her feet. Tsumura rocked Lim with a one-two, but Lim recovered quickly and answered back with three punches. Tsumura chopped at her lead leg and threw her to the mat, but she was not able to get enough arc to earn a point.

Round 3:

Lim pressed forward with punches and body kicks in round three and Tsumura countered by tying her up in a clinch. A lead right hand landed for Lim and Tsumura responded with leg kicks. She worked for a standing guillotine choke, but Lim defended and escaped. The fighters exchanged one-twos and both women landed right hands late in the round.

Winner: Mio Tsumura by Unanimous Decision (30-28, 30-28, 30-29) after three 3:00 rounds. She improves to 34-3-0 and advances to the semi-final round of the 2018 Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup.

(Photo Credit: Shoot Boxing)