Ham Seo Hee admits she was skeptical about whether Itsuki Hirata fight would ever materialize

At ONE Fight Night 8 on March 24, Ham Seo Hee and Itsuki Hirata finally stepped foot inside the circle to face one another.

The two highly touted atomweight contenders were scheduled to compete at ONE 163 in November. However, the fight was canceled and rescheduled after Hirata failed to make weight and pass her hydration test.

In Singapore this past weekend, both fighters arrived at the contest ready to compete in a match that had massive implications on the division’s rankings.

South Korea’s Ham Seo Hee got her hand raised at the end of the fight, finally able to prove the point that she is the better fighter.

Following the event, the veteran revealed in her post-event interview that ahead of the weigh-in day, she was still skeptical that the fight would even take place after the events of ONE 163:

“First of all, I was just really not sure if the fight was actually going to materialize. I was just worried that my efforts would come to nothing as it did last time.”

With a unanimous decision win over the rising Japanese contender, Ham can now move past this chapter in her career towards a world championship opportunity.

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Ham Seo Hee hoped Angela Lee would have been her next opponent

With a dominant performance against Itsuki Hirata at ONE Fight Night 8, Ham Seo Hee has established herself as the clear top contender in the atomweight division.

After finally settling the score with her Japanese opponent, the clear route for either woman was that of a title shot against the reigning atomweight world champion Angela Lee.

The South Korean veteran revealed in an interview that she focused on a contest with Angela Lee ahead of March 24, not giving too much attention to whoever would stand in her way:

“Although [I expected] my next opponent to be Angela Lee my main intention was to have a match, so it didn’t matter to me that my next opponent was Itsuki or someone else.”

At present, it remains unclear how long Angela Lee will be away from competition for. After solidifying her place right at the top of the division ‘Hamzzang’ doesn’t necessarily have her heart set on facing Lee for the world championship.

As long as she is progressing forward, the woman across from her inside the circle is less important. She added:

“The moment I signed with ONE there was only one goal, to be able to wear the ONE Championship belt around my waist and own it. So to progress towards that and achieve it would be the optimal outcome.”