Rena Kubota, Lindsey VanZandt

Japan and the United States were among the seven countries represented at “Bellator 222.” Bellator MMA held the mixed martial arts even in Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, USA on June 14, 2019.

“Bellator 222” featured 18 MMA matches. The sixth bout of the evening was between Rena Kubota, 27, of Osaka, Japan and Lindsey “Damsel” VanZandt, 25, of Wappingers Falls, New York.

Kubota was one of the two fighters who represented Japan while VanZandt was one of the 28 representatives of the U.S. at “Bellator 222.” Brazil, Canada, Hungary, Israel and Peru were also represented.

The official “Bellator 222” weigh-ins took place at the Bellator host hotel in New York. Kubota and VanZandt weighed 111.2 lbs and 111.4 lbs, respectively.

Blue Corner

VanZandt was born in Wappingers Falls on August 6, 1993. She has been competing professionally since 2017.

“Bellator 222” marked VanZandt’s second Bellator MMA fight. She previously competed in King of the Cage, Maverick MMA and Invicta Fighting Championships.

Red Corner

Born in Osaka on June 29, 1991, Kubota is a multiple time Shoot Boxing Women’s Flyweight Champion with a combined professional shoot boxing and kickboxing record of 35 wins, 5 losses and 1 draw. As an MMA fighter, she has been competing professionally since 2015.

 Kubota made her Bellator MMA debut at “Bellator 222.” She previously competed in Rizin Fighting Federation.

Fight Result

Kubota and VanZandt competed at a catch weight of 112 lbs. Todd Anderson served as the referee.

Anderson put a stop to the catchweight bout after 4 minutes and 4 seconds in the first round. VanZandt submitted Kubota via rear-naked choke.

Winning at “Bellator 222” improved VanZandt’s professional MMA record to 5 wins and 1 loss. On the other hand, Kubota now has 8 wins and losses.

“Bellator 222” Main Events

Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida, 41, of Brazil and Chael Sonnen, 42, of West Linn, Oregon, USA competed in the light heavyweight division in the co-main event. The Brazilian contender knocked out his American opponent in the second round.

Neiman Gracie, 30, of Brazil challenged reigning Bellator Welterweight World Champion Rory “Red King” MacDonald, 29, of Canada in the main event, which was also a Bellator Welterweight World Grand Prix semi-final bout. The defending champion won via unanimous decision.

Check all the “Bellator 222” results on Conan Daily.