“I believe it will have to pay off” - Itsuki Hirata explains why she trained so hard in the United States

Itsuki Hirata is one of ONE Championship’s biggest MMA prospects. At just 22 years of age, ‘Android 18’ has already become one of Japanese MMA’s biggest stars. Gaining four straight wins and a 75 percent finish rate inside the circle, Hirata is primed to be a major star within the organization.

Suffering her first setback at the promotion’s 10th-anniversary spectacular ONE X event in March, Hirata was on the wrong side of a close split-decision loss to Jihin Radzuan. In the aftermath of her loss, Hirata traveled to the United States to hone her skills in some of the country's top combat sports training facilities, including 10th Planet in California and Team Serra in New York. Hirata said:

“I go to several gyms to train in striking, BJJ, and Muay Thai, but striking is the biggest part for me.

Itsuki Hirata continued to discuss her training in the US, saying:

“I practice in a way that reminds me of the days when I belonged to the judo club at junior high school. I practice so hard that I believe it will have to pay off.”

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Itsuki Hirata put more focus on improving her striking to compliment her ground game

While ‘Android 18’ has one victory by way of knockout, she is primarily known for her submission skills. Earning three straight submissions as part of the Japanese TV reality series Agent Fighting War, Hirata earned her way into ONE Championship and secured two more submission victories in her first two fights.

While her ground game has largely gotten the job done thus far, the Japanese prodigy’s striking has been her Achilles heel. Itsuki discusses her striking coach and the "tough love" approach:

“The striking coach, Nestor, who will be in my corner in the upcoming fight, is very harsh, but he tells me, ‘This is affection’ after every practice. I spent a month there this time because I was only able to go for two weeks last time.”

Hirata steps back into the circle as part of the stacked ONE on Prime Video 1 card. She will face decorated Chinese mixed martial artist Lin Heqin. With wins over Jomary Torres and Bi Nguyen, Heqin will be a good test for Hirata’s return to ONE Championship. Watch 'Android 18' land the "question-mark" kick below: