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ONE atomweight sensation Itsuki Hirata will face China's Lin Heqin on the main card of ONE on Prime Video 1 on August 26. This bout is Hirata's first since losing for the first time in her career at ONE X last March.
The Japanese MMA star lost to Malaysia's Jihin Radzuan in one of the biggest upsets of the night. She's now trying to bounce back by facing the lanky Chinese slugger.
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'Android 18' has been rebuilding her game by cross-training with gyms around the US in preparation for Heqin. It seems that the young lion is truly eager to make things right and get back on the winning column.
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One of Hirata's previous opponents, Alyse Anderson, has spoken to ONE Championship recently about her thoughts on the Japanese's next bout. The American expressed her thoughts on their fight:
"I was really nervous. It was my ONE debut. You know, I hope she wins her next fight too. Because I hope that we do get to meet up again in the Circle because I feel like I could get that win back. I feel like I exposed a lot of her holes in her striking for her other opponents to take advantage of that. She had this hype train going into her, like the next superstar. You know, I didn't get the win but I did feel like I showed her weaknesses and what she needed to improve on and then she did lose the one after that. So I feel like she's going to come back really strong, but I would like to meet up with her again in the Circle to get that win back."
Though Anderson lost via unanimous decision that night, she was able to hurt Itsuki Hirata near the end of the bout. She was the first to be able to knock down the Japanese rising star. It's no surprise that Anderson wants to run things back.
"Her Judo is just something" - Alyse Anderson on Itsuki Hirata's grappling
In the interview, Anderson also gave an assessment of Itsuki Hirata's MMA game and what made her walk away with the win after their fight. The American gave a detailed recount of what it felt like to face 'Android 18':
"Her Judo is just something. Even though I train once a month for it, you know, she's grown up her whole life doing that, doing judo and being able to shift weight and know where your weight is, to get her hips under mine and that's how I ended up on my back. And yeah, her top pressure was great. It was really hard to get up but I feel like if I would have fought how I fought in the third round, and just used my striking and kept my range, then I could have won that fight if I fought like that the whole fight. But you know, I didn't and it was a good learning lesson."
We're hoping Itsuki Hirata uses her Judo background to the fullest extent at ONE on Prime Video 1. It has always been her major strength and we're expecting her to use her newly-elevated MMA arsenal to make way for her powerful grappling.
