WATCH: Rena Taps Out to Kneebar submission at Rizin Landmark 5

Holy Field

On April 29th, the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo hosted the “RIZIN LANDMARK 5 in YOYOGI” event, featuring a matchup between RENA, a Shoot boxing world champion, and Claire Lopez from the Great Britain Top Team, in a RIZIN MMA rule 5 minutes 3R fight (51.0 kg). After securing an ippon victory with a knee cross lock, Lopez spoke to the press in a post-match interview.

Lopez Wins with a surprising submission

In a video of the match, Lopez can be seen delivering a knee cross submission to RENA, who taps out with an anguished expression. RENA, who is set to compete in the “Combate Global” main battlefield in Central and South America, faced Lopez in 2020. Lopez boasts a high finish rate and also competes in Bellator.

“I really like the knee cross lock, and it’s a technique I often use in jiu-jitsu classes, and I learned it about a year ago.”

This technique is sometimes referred to as the dog bar.

Despite RENA landing a blow in the 2nd round and driving in body strikes in the 3rd round, she was outnumbered by Lopez’s right from the start. In the end, it was Lopez’s knee cross lock that stiffened RENA and ultimately led to her tap out.

Lopez’s Post-Match Interview

After the match, Lopez spoke to the press, praising RENA as a great martial artist. She said she knew RENA was a striker, so she was able to attack her with wrestling.

Lopez also discussed her love of the knee cross lock, which she often uses in jiu-jitsu classes and learned about a year ago. She hopes to compete in her original weight class, either Atomweight or Super Atomweight.

Lopez also expressed her desire to visit the graves of the 47 Ako Roshi. She was stressed about not being able to go there during her time in Japan and shared her thoughts on the country.

RENA’s Post-Match Condition

RENA went straight to the hospital after the match and did not appear at the comment booth. However, she took to Twitter to apologize for her loss and expressed her hope that the test results would not reveal anything serious.