Set to make Rizin debut, Saori Oshima continues quick rise -

Having made her pro-MMA debut in January of 2020, Saori Oshima has been competing in the sport for a little under two years. Despite this short amount of time, she has already put together a record of 6-2, won a championship in two different divisions, and is now making her Rizin debut. Not only is she making her Rizin debut, she is set to face their former champion, who also happens to be one of their more popular fighters, Kanna Asakura. It goes without saying that a win over Asakura would launch Oshima up the rankings and into the world of international competition. Ahead of her fight this Sunday at Rizin 31 in Yokohama, we had a chance to ask Oshima some questions about her background, the upcoming fight, and what it’s like being a mother and a fighter.

From the rural mountains to being a two division champion

Originally from Shimane, a rural prefecture in western Japan, Oshima’s parents lived in the mountains and had a Judo hall. As a result, she started training when she was 3 and didn’t leave the sport for 20 years. However, living in the rural mountains, where there were no traffic lights, wild boar roamed, and she wore a bear-bell on the way to school, didn’t provide the best Judo opportunities. So like Ayaka Hamasaki, she and her brothers went to boarding schools once they reached junior high, in order to get the best training available. Taking advantage of this opportunity, she went on to get second place in the National Junior High School Tournament and got second place in the All Japan Junior Tournament when she was in high school.

Saori Oshima submits Sakura, courtesy of Akihito Tatematsu

Having found success Judo, she went on to Tokai University where she joined their prestigious Judo team, whose alumni included Bellator fighter Kana Watanabe. Also on the team, was future Deep Jewels champion, Miki Motono, who would play a significant role in Oshima’s decision to transition to MMA. During her collegiate career, she won the All Japan Junior Tournament in 2014. After she graduated, she got married to Yuma Oshima, a fellow judo practitioner who is on a corporate team, retired from Judo, and had twins.

However, in March of 2019, her friend and former teammate, Miki Motono made her MMA debut. Oshima’s admitted that she was jealous of Miki and her husband, who were both still competing, so she decided to also re-enter competition. A month later, she started training regularly at AACC and 3 months after that, she won her amateur debut. 2 months later she went on to win a 9 person amateur atomweight tournament under the Shooto banner and due to this success, she made her professional debut in January of 2020, where she won via TKO in the 2nd round.

Since making her pro-debut, things have moved quickly for the 4″11 Oshima. She fought 5 times in 2020, across 2 divisions, going 3-2, and winning the microweight championship. In 2021, she has already fought 3 times, won the Deep Jewels atomweight championship, avenging her defeat to Si Woo Park in the process. Now she is all set to make her Rizin debut against her toughest opponent to date.

When asked about her career to date, Oshima commented, “In less than 2 years I’ve become a champion in two different weight classes, but I didn’t win all the time, I lost a couple times too. When I lost, I looked back on myself and reflected on what I had done so far and then made changes to my training. I did Judo for about 20 years since I was 3, but I got married and had kids, so I had to start from scratch and it was really hard to rebuild my body, but I’ve been gradually getting it back.”

Saori Oshima submits Si Woo Park, courtesy of Akihito Tatematsu

Fighting the former champion

In her next fight, Oshima will be facing former Rizin champion Kanna Asakura, who is coming off of an exciting split-decision loss to Oshima’s teammate, Ayaka Hamasaki. It is fair to say that Asakura represents Oshima’s toughest challenge to date, on the biggest stage to date. When asked about her opponent, Oshima observed, “Of my past 8 opponents, I think she is the strongest I’ll face. She’s impressive because she can stand or take it to the ground.” She then went on to add, “I think she will try to strike, but I’ve also been working on my stand-up skills, so I also plan to strike with her.” When asked if her recent victory over Hikaru Aono, a more highly decorated wrestler than Asakura, gave her confidence, Oshima replied, “I’ve never really be good against fighters with a wrestling base, but the win over Aono does give me confidence”

Being a mother and balancing her career

As a young fighter, a mother, and a wife, Oshima is constantly balancing different aspects of her life. When asked about it, she commebted that if she spends too much time on one, the others get neglected. For example if she trains too much, she will be too tired and won’t get to spend enough time with her children or do other chores. Where if she tries to do everything perfectly with the kids and her housework, she doesn’t have time to train. As a result, there has been a lot of trial and error in trying to get the right balance. However, with her success so far, things have started to get easier. With success has come fans and sponsors, which gives her the means to take advantage of childcare services, which in turn allows her to train more consistently.

When asked about her kids and her career, she added, “When they grow up, I want them to see that their mother fought on this stage.” She also added that, as a mother, she’d be happy if mothers who are working hard to raise their children could see her fight and doing her best.