is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

. She is competing in the

Flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb). Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of bo ...

division of

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media cong ...

. Kana Watanabe spent most of her career fighting in her native Japan, until she began fighting in

. As of December 13, 2022, she is #7 in the Bellator Women's pound-for-pound Rankings and #2 in the Bellator Women's Flyweight Rankings.

Judo

She started judo at the age of seven at Rinkai Juku. In his third year at Shibuya Kyoiku Gakuen Shibuya Junior High School, he competed in the 63kg category at the National Junior High School Judo Tournament, but lost in the third round. In her first year at Shibuya Kyoiku Gakuen Shibuya High School, she placed fifth at the National High School Championships, and in her second year she competed in the Kinwashi-ki competition, reaching the finals along with Nakamura Misato, a year her junior, but lost to Saitama Sakae High School, placing second. At the Inter High School Championships, she finished second in the individual competition, losing in the final to Wada Mami, a junior at Okatoyo High School, and third in the team competition. In the team competition at the National High School Championships, she played well with Nakamura and reached the final, but lost to Sanda Shosei High School, finishing second In her junior year, she won the Asian Junior Championships, but finished third at the All Japan Junior Championships.｢柔道全日本強化選手名鑑　2010｣近代柔道ベースボールマガジン社、2010年4月号 In 2007 she went on to Tokai University, where she won the All-Japan Junior Championships in her freshman year. When asked by fellow judo player Nozomi Hirai, two years her senior, why Watanabe was nicknamed Pato, she tricked them into believing for several years that her real name was half-white, "Kana Watanabe Patricia". In reality, she was only called Pato because she looked like a parrot named Patricia that a friend of hers had. In her junior year, she placed fifth at the Kodokan Cup and competed in the weight division in her senior year, but lost in the first round to Ryotokuji Gakuen staff member Mie Tanaka in the Tomoe nage. She placed third in the student weight division.｢りれーとーく　219｣近代柔道　ベースボールマガジン社、2016年5月号｢りれーとーく　220｣近代柔道　ベースボールマガジン社、2016年6月号 In 2011, she became a member of JR East and took third place at the 2013 individual business championships. She then moved up to the 57kg weight class and contributed to the team's second place finish in the 2016 Jitsugyo team competition against Komatsu, defeating the previous year's Kodokan Cup winner, Ji Ishikawa, with a giai (a technique ari). He received the Outstanding Player Award on this occasion. At the Asia Open Taipei, she lost in the final to Eimi Kaneko of the Japan Self-Defense Forces Physical Education Academy, and finished second. She retired from judo and became a coach, but she felt that she couldn't continue to train athletes while still feeling like she hadn't done enough as an athlete, so after only three months, she quit as a coach. After that, she joined Fighter's Flow, which was run by Takao Ueda, a mixed martial artist she knew. At this time, she was described as a beautiful woman with a small face and a muscular body, but also flexible enough to perform leg openings and Y-balances. In 2017, she participated in KUNOICHI, a female version of SASUKE aired on TBS, twice in a row, both times achieving top results.

MMA career

Rizin / DEEP

On December 3, 2017, in her mixed martial arts debut at DEEP Deep Jewels 18, she beat Hikari (Hikari Sato, Piroctetes Niigata) with an arm-hold crucifix, and appealed after the match to participate in

RIZIN Rizin Fighting Federation (Rizin FF or Rizin) is a Japanese mixed martial arts organization created in 2015 by the former Pride Fighting Championships and Dream Stage Entertainment president Nobuyuki Sakakibara. Rizin was founded to be the spir ...

. On December 29, 2017, she fought

Shizuka Sugiyama , occasionally nicknamed and , is an American-born Japanese female mixed martial artist. She previously fought in the MMA promotion Jewels and now competes for Deep. Background Sugiyama was born on in New York City, New York, United States. Su ...

at Rizin World Grand Prix 2017: 2nd Round and won a 3-0 decision. On March 10, 2018, Kana Watanabe took part at Deep Jewels 19 event versus Yukari Nabe. The fight ended with draw. However, on June 09, 2018, she took a revenge at Deep Jewels 20 and won by Decision (Majority). On August 26, 2018, she won the fight versus Asami Nakai at Deep - 85 Impact event by Submission (Armbar) in Round 1. On December 31, 2018, she had a rematch against

at Rizin - Heisei's Last Yarennoka! and won by KO in 11 seconds of the match. On March 08, 2019, Kana Watanabe won her fight versus Soo Min Kang at Deep Jewels 23 by TKO (Punches) in Round 1. On April 21, 2019, she fought Justyna Haba at Rizin 15 and won by unanimous decision. On October 22, 2019, she won the fight versus Hee Eun Kang at Deep Jewels 26 by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) in Round 1. On December 29, 2019, she faced Ilara Joani at Bellator Japan's "Bellator x RIZIN" and won by TKO with back mount and pounding. In a post-fight interview, she said, "Next year, if RIZIN can make a women's flyweight belt, I want to challenge for that belt, and I also want to challenge overseas." She also said "I want to challenge for the women's flyweight belt in RIZIN next year, and I also want to challenge overseas.

Bellator MMA

On December 10, 2020, it was announced that she had signed a multi-fight contract with

Bellator Bellator, warrior in Latin, may refer to: * Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States * Bishop Bellator of Archaeological site of Sbeitla, Sufetula (5th century) Taxonomy * Bellator (fish), ''Bellator'' (fish), a fis ...

. On April 2, 2021, she made her U.S. debut at

Bellator 255 Bellator 255: Pitbull vs. Sanchez 2 was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on April 2, 2021 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The event was Bellator's first of the year following a four-month break ...

against

Alejandra Lara Alejandra Lara (born ) is a Colombian female mixed martial artist currently signed to the Bellator MMA promotion. As of October 4, 2022, she is #10 in the Bellator Women's Flyweight Rankings. Mixed martial arts career Early career Lara made ...

. She won the bout via split decision. Watanabe faced

Liz Carmouche Liz Carmouche (born February 19, 1984) is an American mixed martial arts fighter currently signed to Bellator MMA, where she is the current Bellator Women's Flyweight World Champion. Carmouche competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC ...

on June 25, 2021 at

Bellator 261 Bellator 261: Johnson vs. Moldavsky was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on June 25, 2021, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Background With current heavyweight champion Ryan Bader moving on i ...

. She lost the bout via TKO in the opening 35 seconds via a series of stand-up punches. It was her first loss in 12 career fights. Watanabe faced

Denise Kielholtz Denise Kielholtz (born 30 March 1989) is a Dutch female Muay Thai kickboxer and mixed martial artist, based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. She has competed professionally since 2004 and is the current Bellator Kickboxing Women's Flyweight Champion. ...

on May 13, 2022 at

Bellator 281 ''Bellator 281: MVP vs. Storley'' (also known as '' Bellator London'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on May 13, 2022, at SSE Arena in London, England. Background Yaroslav Amosov was to make his first ...

. She won the fight via a triangle choke submission in the second round. Watanabe is scheduled to face

Ilima-Lei Macfarlane Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (born April 2, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the flyweight division of Bellator MMA. She is the inaugural and former Bellator Women's Flyweight World Champion. As of December ...

on April 22, 2023, at Bellator 295.

Mixed martial arts record

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London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

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Uncasville, Connecticut Uncasville is an area in the New England town, town of Montville, Connecticut, Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is a Administrative divisions of Connecticut#Village, neighborhood, section of town, village in southeastern Montville, at the ...

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Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0–1 , Justyna Haba , Decision (unanimous) , Rizin 15 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Watanabe, Kana 1988 births Living people Japanese female mixed martial artists Flyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Mixed martial artists utilizing karate Bellator MMA champions Bellator female fighters Japanese female judoka Japanese female karateka 21st-century Japanese women