Itsuki Hirata is back in New York training for next fight against Ham Seo Hee

Japanese women’s MMA star Itsuki Hirata is heading back to the Circle on November 19th, facing the biggest challenge of her still young mixed martial arts career.

‘Android 18’ will face No. 2 ranked atomweight contender Ham Seo Hee in what could very well be a title eliminator.

After suffering her first career loss at ONE X in March to Jihin Radzuan, Hirata bounced back with a solid performance at ONE on Prime Video 1. Showing a significant improvement in both her striking and grappling, ‘Android 18’ scored a unanimous decision win against the ‘Fighting Sister’ Lin Heqin.

Getting back in the win column was no easy task, but Hirata gives much of the credit for her improvements to her time training at Serra-Longo in New York

Based in Long Island, Serra-Longo Fight Team was established by MMA icons Matt Serra and Ray Longo. The gym has produced a slew of elite mixed martial artists and champions. Itsuki Hirata could very well become a member of that list in the near future, considering the vast improvements she made training at Serra-Longo. These changes came within the five months between the disappointing loss to ‘Shadow Cat’ and her epic return in August.

Preparing herself for a showdown with Ham Seo Hee, Itsuki Hirata is back in New York, continuing to hone her skills and potentially winning the biggest fight of her career thus far.

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Itsuki Hirata ready for the challenge of facing a much more experienced fighter in Ham Seo Hee

Itsuki Hirata and Ham Seo Hee will square off in an atomweight bout with major world title implications on November 19th when the promotion heads back to Singapore Indoor Stadium. ‘Hamzzang’ will be gunning for her third straight win while ‘Android 18’ will be looking for her sixth victory inside the Circle.

While Hirata enters the bout with more experience under the ONE Championship banner, Ham Seo Hee will be a veteran with more than 30 career fights and five times as many wins as Hirata. Despite that significant edge in experience, Hirata is excited about the opportunity to face a veteran who is still incredibly dangerous inside the cage.

"I know she’s strong and a veteran in the sport. I wanted to fight with her while she’s still strong. I guess many people will talk about how I will lose this fight. For me, there’s always a chance to win. I’ve been training really hard, so why not fight with someone who is really strong?"

Itsuki Hirata and Ham Seo Hee will meet inside the Circle at ONE 163 on November 19th.