As Japan prepares for the Olympics, there is going to be a lull on the martial arts scene. Since things will slow down, it might be interesting to look at some non-event specific topics. For those that pay attention to the Japanese combat scene, it will be no surprise that social media has played an increasingly important role. Popular Youtubers have made numerous appearances at Rizin, Sakakibara has started making Youtube videos, and other fighters have been using social media to sell tickets to their fights.
In order to explore this trend, we have compiled a list of 75 popular female fighters in Japan. On this we compiled how many Twitter followers, Instagram followers, and Youtube subscribers they have generated. In this article we will look at the top 10.
10. King Reina (38,900)
With her outspoken nature, pro-wrestling antics, and her fights on Fuji TV, it is no surprise that King Reina has a following on social media. In addition, pre-COVID-19, King Reina would host bbq’s and other events with her fans. This popularity can explain why she fought in the co-main event for Deep last month. Despite losing that fight, she is now scheduled to fight Mina, a long-time fighter for Shoot Boxing. The fight will be on this years Girl’s S-Cup, one of the bigger Shoot Boxing events of the year. It is no doubt that the press and attention she brings with her, is one of the reasons they are interested.
9. Miyuu Yamamoto (47,093)
As a member of one of the most dominant families in combat sports, Miyuu Yamamoto is a house-hold name in Japan. While she was probably most famous during her wrestling days, her fights in Rizin have introduced her to new audiences. As she looks to rebuild Krazy Bee, her social media now gives us a glimpse into not only her training, but fighters like Itsuki Hirata and Si Woo Park.
It is worth noting that while her Youtube channel has 9,680 subscribers, it has over 1 million views. She also doesn’t really use her Twitter that much, which might explain the lower numbers there.
8. Ayaka Hamasaki (58,460)
Current Rizin Super Atomweight Champion and the first Japanese fighter to ever win a major title in North America, Ayaka Hamasaki has been concentrating more on social media these days. This is contrary to the beginning of her career, where it wasn’t a priority. This is best exemplified in her Youtube channel, which was created in March of this year. It will be interesting to see how her social media and Youtube evolves as she concentrates on it more.
7. Ayaka Miura (59,300)
One Championship fighters tend to have somewhat larger social media presences and it is no different with Ayaka Miura. Unlike Miyuu and Hamasaki, Miura’s presence is pretty evenly balanced across all three platforms. Her most popular Youtube videos tend to be collaborations with other high caliber athletes, like Karate world champion Ayumi Uekusa.
6. Kana Watanabe (62,150)
Despite her recent loss to Liz Carmouche, a lot of Japanese fights fans see Kana as representing Rizin and Japanese MMA. In fact, so many Japanese fight fans were commenting on the live video stream of her first fight with them in the U.S., that Bellator asked Rizin’s Shingo to come in and moderate the comments. She has been using her social media more and has also been creating behind the scenes content for her supporters. It is also worth noting that she does not have an individual Youtube channel. Rather she is a frequent guest on her gym’s channel, where she has collaborated with fighters like Panchan Rina.
5. Shizuka Sugiyama (103,700)
Sugiyama has been fighting since 2007 and in that time, she has developed a following in Japan. Skilled in the ring and charismatic out of the ring, it makes sense that she has been used as a face for several promotions. Examples can be seen in that she was a regular guest on the old Deep Jewels TV and she was actually used by the UFC to help promote their return to Japan. Sugiyama has been active on her Youtube channel for about a year and has created a pretty fun channel, usually involving some fun collaborations.
4. Itsuki Hirata (151,600)
At just 21 years old, Itsuki is the youngest fighter on the list and has already broken the top 5. In addition to compiling their follower and subscriber numbers, we also looked at the Google Trends for the top 5. The most interesting revelation was that while Itsuki generated the least amount of searches within Japan, she generated the most outside of Japan. In the U.S. for example, the other 4 do not generate consistent searches, with only momentary spikes around their fights. Itsuki, on the other hand, has a lot more spikes than any of the other top 5 and her spikes are significantly higher. On a final note, according to Google Trends, the most common search query related to Itsuki is about her and Erson.
3. Panchan Rina (180,000)
As the only kickboxer on the list, Rina has built her social media following quickly and methodically. Having turned pro in 2019, she started her Youtube channel in May of 2020. In less than a month, she collaborated with Sugiyama on her channel and within three months she also collaborated with Kana Watanabe and Kai Asakura. The initial video with Kai is still her most viewed video to date. Her collaborations with Kai led to them being on the cover of Gong magazine and with them both visiting Sakakibara, possibly paving the way for her to fight for the promotion in the future. She has a fight lined up this month, so it will be interesting to see how her career develops once the pandemic ends.
2. Rena (278,260)
While people are currently thinking about her upcoming retirement, it is worth remembering that the 30 year old has been fighting professionally since she was 16. During that time period, she has appeared on numerous magazine covers and TV programs. She was also the face of Shoot Boxing and fought in high profile matches, like her fight with Erika Kamimura. This is all before she transitioned to MMA, where went 6-0 with Rizin. Needless to say, Rena has generated a lot of fans over her 14 year and it reflects in her social media presence. According to Google Trends she generated the 2nd most searches and even then, There were moments when she was number 1. It is worth noting that her Youtube channel seems to be more connected with her merchandise and fan club. She is not a Youtuber by any means and it would be interesting to see what would happen if she started a devoted Youtube channel.
1. Kanna Asakura (304,300)
When considering all the women on the list, Kanna Asakura has the largest social media presence. Her Youtube channel has generated over 16 million views and features collaborations with the big names like Mikuru and Kai. She is also sponsored by TikTok and has over 62,000 followers on that platform. In addition, according to Google Trends, Kanna Asakura generates more searches on a consistent basis than any of the other fighters in the top 5. At times, Rena spikes over Kanna, but those tend to be momentary.
In order to provide some context to her popularity, let’s take a look at some of the other stars in Rizin and some other famous female athletes in Japan.
Rizin Fighters
- Mikuru Asakura: 2,758,800
- Tenshin Nasukawa: 2,035,700
- Kai Asakura: 1,566,000
- Kyoji Horiguchi: 697,300
- Kouzi: 602,300
- Kanna Asakura: 304,300
- Ren Hiramoto: 229,200
- Hiroya: 136,800
- Kintaro: 134,600
- Ougikubo: 37,344
Kanna has somewhat sneakily risen the rankings and has the 6th biggest social media presence of all the Rizin fighters we have looked at. With so many fighters leaning into social media and Youtube now, she seems to be one of the few who has actually broken through and developed a large fanbase. Her popularity can be seen in her sponsorships, which include Pantene and TikTok. It will be interesting to see if her online presence continues to grow in the future.
I will leave you with a list of popular female athletes in Japan to provide some context to her popularity. Saori Yoshida and Mao Asada are extremely popular athletes in Japan. They are common guests on TV, commercials, and are household names. In addition, most of the women included on this list are retired, yet still maintain an active presence in Japanese culture.
On a side note, Eri Tosaka is married to Rizin fighter Kuramoto.
Other Famous Female Athletes
- Saori Yoshida: 766,000 (Olympic Wrestler)
- Mao Asada: 476,000 (Olympic Figure Skater)
- Saori Kimura: 402,600 (Olympic Volleyball)
- Kanna Asakura: 304,300
- Nao Kodaira: 110,300 (Olympic Speed Skater)
- Eri Tosaka: 103,700 (Olympic Wrestler)
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