Ayaka Miura opens up about emotional weight of recent victory: "It was more like a relief to actually get the win"

Ayaka Miura has revealed the intense pressure she felt leading into her recent first-round submission victory, describing her emotions as relief rather than pure celebration.

The Japanese submission specialist delivered another spectacular Ayaka Lock finish against Colombian star Juliana Otalora at ONE Friday Fights 116 last month to extend her winning streak to five and book her shot at the ONE atomweight MMA world title at ONE 173.

Her match against divisional queen Denice Zamboanga emanates live from the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan, on Sunday, November 16.

"To be honest, I needed to win anyway. It was more like I was eager to win, [and] I was happy to win. But it's more like a relief to actually get the win," Ayaka Miura told the South China Morning Post.

Miura wrapped things up against Otalora in the very first round of their atomweight MMA tiff inside the Lumpinee Stadium this month. The Tribe Tokyo MMA athlete dominated the El Patron Academy fighter from start to finish on her way to a ninth Ayaka Lock finish on her resume.

Now, with her ultimate goal of facing Denice Zamboanga in the offing, 'Zombie' is ready to flex her world-class ground game to bag the atomweight crown in front of her hometown fans later this year.

Watch the full interview here:

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Ayaka Miura believes it's her destiny to leave ONE 173 as atomweight MMA queen

Ayaka Miura is grateful to ONE Championship for allowing her the chance to participate in a career-first world title matchup in Japan.

Having primarily competed across Thailand and Singapore in the promotion, 'Zombie' reckons that all signs point toward her upsetting Zamboanga and leaving the Ariake Arena with gold wrapped around her waist.

"I believe the fact that I was given this title shot in Japan means it's my time to win. I used to think the location didn't matter, but now that I've been given this chance in Japan, I truly feel this is the moment I'm meant to take the belt."

Experience the excitement firsthand by purchasing tickets here for ONE 173.