Itsuki Hirata says she "sees a lot of holes" in Ritu Phogat's striking

Itsuki Hirata will face Ritu Phogat in the semi-finals of the ONE atomweight world Grand Prix. The fight takes place at ONE: 'Next Gen' at Singapore Indoor stadium on October 29th. It will pit together two of the biggest female stars in the promotion.

Phogat secured her clash with Hirata the hard way. She had initially lost her spot due to a split decision loss against Bi Nguyen. Phogat then earned her way back into the tournament with an impressive win over China's Lin Heqin. She followed that up with arguably the most important victory of her career; winning a unanimous decision against Meng Bo in the opening round.

The 'Indian Tigress' famously comes from a family of wrestlers. Hirata believes that the definiciencies in Phogat's striking game represent a weakness that can be exploited. Speaking exclusively to SportsKeeda, Hirata said,

"I'm excited for this match-up. I think this is the first pure grappler I'm facing and I see a lot of holes in her striking game. I'm excited to see how that plays out. I'm sure she's going to be fighting the same way she usually does so I've been working my wrestling defense and working my techniques that wrestlers wouldn't like to I'm not too worried," Hirata continued.

Hirata and Phogat both endured tough battles in their respective opening fights. The Japanese star got dropped for the first time in her career against America's Alyse Anderson.

Meanwhile, Phogat initially tasted the power of Meng Bo but showed tremendous determination to impose her will upon her more experienced opponent. The victory snapped Bo's seven-fight winning streak and was a huge feather in the cap for Phogat.

"I was expecting Ritu to take it to the ground just based on her previous fights. I thought personally that Meng Bo would win so I was surprised. I'm thinking she must not have prepared to fight against Ritu Phogat specifically, or maybe Ritu Phogat just had the upper hand and made it clear that she would be winning," said Hirata.

Ham and Zamboanga still in Hirata's sights

The Grand Prix line-up has delivered quite a rollercoaster in recent months. As well as Phogat winning her place back, there were other surprises in store. Denice Zamboanga, who entered as one of the favorites, lost a controversial decision against Seo Hee Ham. The former Rizin champion then dropped out due to injury and was replaced by Julie Mezabarba.

Hirata noted the impact that Ham's absence has had on the competition. She has expressed an interest in fighting the Korean as she'd love to test her skills against such a decorated pillar of women's MMA.

The 22-year-old also said she'd be keen to face Zamboanga, but remains focused on winning the Grand Prix. This would be a feat that would grant her a title shot against Angela Lee.