As one of Rizin’s stars, it made headlines when Rena announced last September that she was thinking of retiring after a few more fights. While it is true that she has considered retirement before, notably in 2011 and 2015, this announcement was the first made in the ring after a fight and the first made to the public. In the past, the comments were usually about how she had considered retiring but changed her mind. For that reason, it seems likely that she is seriously considering retirement. (Header photo is copyright of Shoot Boxing)
Naturally, after she made this announcement, people started to wonder who her final opponents would be and whether she would finish her career in Rizin, in Shoot Boxing, or both. Somewhat surprisingly, not a lot of fighters have come forward and inserted their name into the conversation, at least publicly. That being said, for close to 4 months, one particular Shoot Boxer has been repeatedly making it clear that she would like to face Rena before she retires, Misaki.
For those who are unfamiliar, Misaki is a 25 year old Shoot Boxer from Aichi who holds a 17-7-1 record. What people may not know, is that Rena has been a big influence on Misaki for nearly her entire career. In an instagram post that is at the bottom of this article, she states that Rena is the reason she got into Shoot Boxing instead of kickboxing. In addition, outside of the post, she has talked about how she once lost to a fighter in an amateur tournament that was cornered by Rena and how she was filled with regret at losing in front of someone she admired. Seeing how much of an influence Rena has had on her career, it makes sense that she would want to face her before she retires.
With regards to her calling out Rena, it all started in April, when Misaki fought Rise champion and Tenshin teammate, Hinata Terayama in an exhibition match. After the fight, when she had the microphone, she commented that she wanted to fight for and win the title this year, because she believes that will open her up to fight Rena in Rena’s last Shoot Boxing match. Misaki timed this appeal well, as Rena was sitting ringside as a guest commentator, guaranteeing that she heard it. Later, in July during the lead up to Shoot Boxing’s all women’s event, the Girls S-Cup, Misaki echoed the same sentiment in her pre-fight interviews, that she needed to get some impressive wins and the title, so that the Rena fight becomes available. It is worth noting that Shoot Boxing even published an article / interview discussing the matter, making it seem like a match the promotion may be considering.
After she defeated her opponent in July, she not only spoke to the media about her desire to fight Rena before she retires, she posted a long post on Instagram explaining why she wants the fight. When speaking to the media, she promised that she would stand across the ring from Rena as an opponent, not one of her juniors. Later, in the instagram post, Misaki was less aggressive and revealed that Rena came and checked on her when she was backstage at event earlier that night and that Rena even helped take care of her when she came to Tokyo for the event. She went on to further speak high praise of Rena and her accomplishments before reaffirming her belief that she needs to hurry up and win the title so the fight can materialize.
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