RIZIN’s sculpted judoka gets her org on the
board, as Kana Watanabe (9-0-1) slowly overwhelms a fast-starting
Ilara Joanne with her grappling en route to a third-round TKO! She
rides seven straight wins, five of them finishes.
#Bellator237
#BellatorJapan pic.twitter.com/dWBM8M2pOq— Kyle Johnson (@VonPreux)
December 29, 2019
Unbeaten Japanese flyweight Kana
Watanabe has signed a multi-fight deal with Bellator MMA.
MMAjunkie.com was first to report the new addition to the
roster, which was later confirmed by Bellator officials. A date for
Watanabe’s promotional debut is currently unknown.
Watanabe was an Olympic qualifier for judo in Japan and sports a
9-0-1 career mark in MMA. She has competed for both Deep and Rizin
while finishing six of her opponents by knockout, technical
knockout or submission. Most recently, she defeated Ilara
Joanne by third-round TKO in a crossover bout at Bellator 237
in December 2019.
Watanabe will join a flyweight division that will have arguably its
biggest bout to date when undefeated reigning champion Ilima-Lei
Macfarlane locks horns with the also-unbeaten Juliana
Velasquez at Bellator 254 on Thursday night.