“I imagine every time” - Itsuki Hirata wants atomweight crown before moving up to strawweight

Itsuki Hirata envisions a time when she will make her way to ONE Championship’s strawweight division. For now, ‘Android 18’ is working her way through the incredibly stacked atomweight division with the goal of challenging the reigning atomweight queen Angela Lee sooner rather than later.

Before she can get to Lee, Hirata will first have to get past No.2-ranked South Korean star Ham Seo Hee. The two lady warriors will square off at ONE 163 on November 19.

That same night, Itsuki Hirata will be joined by other Japanese MMA stars, including Shinya Aoki and Yushin ‘Thunder’ Okami.

Sitting down with ONE Championship ahead of her return to the circle, Hirata revealed her interest in a move to the strawweight division someday, but first wants to climb to the top of the atomweight division:

“I imagine every time, I would like to fight at strawweight too. But I think atomweight has a lot of talent. Before I move up [to another] weight class, I would like to get a world championship belt first.”

With her battle with Ham Seo Hee widely considered to be a title eliminator, ‘Android 18’ could very well be just one win away from a date with Angela Lee. That will be easier said than done against a veteran like “Hamzzang’ who walks into the contest with 25 career wins and an undefeated record inside the Circle.

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Itsuki Hirata proud of her status as a Japanese MMA icon

At just 23 years old, Itsuki Hirata has already established herself as one of the biggest mixed martial arts stars in Japan, a fact that she is very proud of:

“I feel like I am already a major part of the history of Japanese MMA. There’s no other fighter right now walking the same path as me. I feel like I am a unique and special kind of fighter. There’s a lot of people following my career, and that’s why I do my best day in and day out to be the fighter that people expect me to be. I just want to entertain the fans.”

At ONE 163, Itsuki Hirata will join her fellow countrymen to represent Japan in a stacked lineup that features the return of Asian MMA legend Shinya Aoki. Also returning to the circle for the first time in more than three years will be Yushin Okami as he takes on fan-favorite Aung La N Sang.

Rounding out the evening will be Hiroki Akimoto, who will defend his ONE bantamweight kickboxing world championship against four-time Muay Thai world champion Petchtanong Petchfergus.