FIGHT ANNOUNCED KNOCK OUT RS15: Kobayashi defends against Mafia Petmongkondee in Nov. 3 main event

Airina Kobayashi has knocked out every opponent she has met in KNOCK OUT, and her third fight there brings another Thai striker. She faces Mafia Petmongkondee in the main event of KNOCK OUT REBELS SERIES 15 on Nov. 3 at KNOCK OUT Tokiwa Arena in Tamura, Fukushima.

Kobayashi arrived in KNOCK OUT in May and won her first two fights by first-round KO with a left to the body. The second of those, in August in Osaka, won her the KNOCK OUT-BLACK women's light flyweight belt. She finished Sanergam Sakchamni at 1:27 of round one, earlier than she had planned. Her own estimate was the late first round, or the second at the latest.

She has described how that fight was built. Sanergam is strong in the clinch, so Kobayashi chose to close the distance rather than avoid it. She also ignored the Thai fighter's middle kicks unless they hurt, after finding the first one lighter than the kicks of her teammate Miyu Sakata. Watching the footage afterward, she was surprised by how many elbows she had taken without noticing.

Mafia is a different test with a connection to that fight. She has beaten Sanergam by KO before, and the RWS women's minimum-weight rankings place her sixth and Sanergam fourth. Kobayashi expects a Thai opponent who pushes forward and clinches, and she told interviewer MMAPLANET: "I think the next fight will end sooner" (translated).

The matchup came together late. Kobayashi had wanted to fight on ONE SAMURAI, but nothing was set, and KNOCK OUT's Genki Yamaguchi offered an opponent he had been trying to book. The main event is scheduled for three three-minute rounds at 48.5 kg, and the card streams on KNOCK OUT's official YouTube channel.

Watch whether Kobayashi again walks into the clinch and lands the left body shot early. She has needed little time so far, and a third quick finish would extend that run.