Rena Kubota Gets New Opponent for Bout at Rizin Fighting Federation 19

Rena Kubota will face a short-notice opponent at Rizin Fighting Federation 19.

According to Rizin president Nobuyuki Sakakibara, Kubota’s original opponent, Shawna Ram, was forced to withdraw from the event after suffering a concussion. As a result, Alexandra Alvare Carlos will replace Ram and square off against Kubota on Saturday.

Rizin 19 takes place at Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium and features a bantamweight clash between Kai Asakura and Ulka Sasaki as well as a light heavyweight showdown pitting Jiri Prochazka against Fabio Maldonado. The quarterfinals of the lightweight grand prix are also scheduled for the card.

Spain’s Carlos is winless in three professional outings, with all of those defeats coming by knockout or technical knockout.

Kubota, a Japanese Shoot Boxing champion, has lost three of her last five MMA appearances after beginning her career with six consecutive triumphs.