Itsuki Hirata says she has ‘a lot to improve on’ when it comes to wrestling

‘Android 18’ Itsuki Hirata admitted that she still has a lot to improve on when it comes to wrestling despite the progress she’s made.

The Japanese standout is scheduled to make her seventh appearance at ONE Championship this Friday at ONE Fight Night 8 on Prime Video, to clash against No.2 ranked atomweight Ham Seo Hee for a coveted spot in the top rankings.

No longer fighting unranked opponents, Hirata has set the bar up for herself in terms of her MMA training. Moving to New York to train at Serra BJJ, for instance, has been a real eye-opener for the Japanese judoka. For one, she saw major gaps in her wrestling game that needed to be improved upon.

Despite the progress she’s made since her last outing, Hirata admitted that there’s a lot more work to be done if she intends to beat an opponent of Ham’s caliber again in the near future.

Speaking to ONE, the 23-year-old star said:

“I believe that I might be able to keep a position if I get it, but in terms of movement, I still have a lot to improve on. I'm currently focusing on improving my wrestling to compensate for that weakness. I want to utilize the skills that I’ve been training during the fight.”

Watch Itsuki Hirata in action this Friday, March 24 live and for free with an Amazon Prime Video subscription.

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Itsuki Hirata regrets letting her fans down after missing weight at ONE 163

Itsuki Hirata has a lot more to prove going into this fight than ever before.

As most fans know, Hirata has a history of missing weight and hydration during fight week. What happened last November was no different. Her rival, Ham Seo Hee, was furious that she missed the mark again, refusing to accept Hirata’s proposal to fight at catchweight.

Itsuki Hirata never had the chance to explain exactly what happened at ONE 163 until now.

Speaking to ONE, she said:

"If you ask me what happened, I think it's the same thing that everyone knows. Not being able to have the fight that everyone was looking forward to was the most regrettable thing. As for Ham Seo Hee declining to accept a catchweight fight, I didn't particularly have any thoughts about it."

With the help of a nutritionist, Hirata is confident she’ll be on weight this week.