Ham Seo Hee reveals she is more than willing to face Itsuki Hirata despite controversy

Second-ranked ONE women’s atomweight contender Ham Seo Hee was always willing to trade leather with Itsuki Hirata as long as she fulfilled her pre-fight obligations as a professional fighter.

‘Android 18’ finally got her affairs in order, and their highly-anticipated fight at 115 pounds will take place on March 24, in the main card of ONE Fight Night 8: Superlek vs. Williams on Prime Video at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

While always down for a fight, Ham understandably refused to do a catchweight bout with Itsuki last year after she failed her weight and hydration tests at ONE 163.

The Japanese prodigy, after all, has been a repeat offender with a history of failing to meet the demands of the scales in the past.

Moreover, ‘Hamzzang’ admitted she didn’t appreciate Itsuki’s nonchalant and unapologetic demeanor during the fiasco, which prompted the promotion to reschedule the bout instead.

In an interview with SCMP MMA, Ham Seo Hee revealed that she always intended to settle her unfinished business with Itsuki.

The respected veteran, however, wanted to teach the youngster a lesson about being a true professional, which starts by honoring their contracts and making the agreed-upon weight:

“I was open and ready to fight other fighters, but I did want to fight Itsuki Hirata because we were supposed to fight. As long as she got her weight and hydration issues resolved, I was willing to fight, and that’s why I said yes.”

Watch Ham Seo Hee’s OFN8 pre-event interview below:

Meanwhile, the 23-year-old Itsuki seemed to learn from her mistakes and handily made the 115-pound women’s atomweight limit this time around.

Although visibly thrilled that ‘Android 18’ got over her demons, Ham will still do everything in her power to beat the brakes off her this coming Friday.

A victory over Itsuki will improve Ham Seo Hee’s ONE record to 3-0 and move her much closer to a world title shot.

ONE Fight Night 8: Superlek vs. Williams on Prime Video will stream live in US primetime and is free for all Amazon Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.