“I know her weakness” - Itsuki Hirata confident she will handle business against Lin Heqin

Itsuki Hirata will look to get back into the win column following her first setback in the ONE circle. ‘Android 18’ returns as part of the stacked ONE on Prime Video 1 card to face skilled Chinese striker Lin Heqin.

First debuting with ONE Championship in 2019, Hirata went on a four-fight win streak, earning finishes in the first three. At the promotion’s 10th-anniversary event ONE X in March, Hirata found herself on the wrong side of a split decision against Jihin Radzuan. While Hirata has expressed a desire for a rematch with Radzuan in the future, ‘Android 18’ is focused on the task at hand this Friday.

Speaking to the promotion ahead of her return, Itsuki Hirata discussed her opponent’s strengths and weaknesses.

“She is an all-around fighter who knows her best distance, techniques, and combinations, and I think she is confident in her striking because she has competed in kickboxing bouts at ONE. However, if you look at her match with Ritu [Phogat], she was dominated on the ground and lost by points. I think this is the difference between her level of kickboxing and MMA.”

Hirata believes that her biggest strength is Lin Heqin’s biggest weakness.

“I know her weakness is the ground skills, and she is confident enough to start her game plan with striking. Also, I think she’s trying to finish the game without wrestling because every striker without ground skills fights that way.”

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Itsuki Hirata open to submission grappling matches under ONE Championship

With ONE Championship’s renewed focus on signing some of the best Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners in the world, everyone seems to have an interest in testing their ground game against the world’s finest. Itsuki Hirata is no different.

Before turning to full-time mixed martial arts, Hirata had a relatively successful run in grappling tournaments throughout Japan. The opportunity to return to the world of grappling is something that certainly excites the young MMA prospect. Speaking to ONE, Hirata confessed her interest but didn’t have a specific name to call out.

“Yeah, if there’s a chance, I would love the opportunity to fight in a submission grappling match in ONE Championship. There are a lot of great names out there and some really talented fighters, but I don’t have any specific opponent in mind. But I am definitely willing to try!”