Itsuki Hirata eyes training stint with American Top Team

For a fresh perspective on her training, 'Android 18' Itsuki Hirata moved from her home in Japan and now trains in New York City, USA. The Japanese-born Judoka has found it majorly beneficial and may look for further moves in the US.

Hirata currently trains at the Serra-Longo Fight Team. She has been preparing for her upcoming MMA match alongside notable fighters such as Chris Weidman, Aljamain Sterling, and Matt Serra, among others.

However, Hirata may have her eyes on training at fight camps such as American Top Team. ATT's main coaches are former WEC champion Mike Brown and Strikeforce champion 'King' Mo Lawal.

ATT has produced some highly notable athletes in MMA such as former ONE flyweight world champion Adriano Moraes, Joanna Jędrzejczyk, Dustin Poirier, Kayla Harrison, Kyoji Horiguchi, and many others.

On potentially visiting the American Top Team camp, Itsuki Hirata said:

"I would like to visit other camps during my off-season. I especially want to go to American Top Team (ATT). I talked about it with ABEMA, and we have the “train abroad project."

A little nervous, Hirata continued:

"But there are a lot of fighters at ATT and sometimes, the coaches can't see everyone. If I go, it might just end up being chaotic – in a good way – with everyone training together. At my current gym, I have a coach who works with me one-on-one, but I would like to go to other gyms to train when I don't have a fight scheduled."

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Itsuki Hirata trained in New York for Ham Seo Hee

To get ready for her upcoming atomweight showdown, 'Android 18' trained in New York to prepare for 'Hamzzang' Ham Seo Hee. These two are booked for a battle on March 24 at ONE Fight Night 8 on Prime Video. ONE Fight Night events are broadcast live and for free in North America via Prime Video.

Itsuki Hirata discussed training in New York for Ham Seo Hee. While speaking in an interview with ONE Championship, she said:

"I’m living in New York and renting a house here, so for now, it’s New York [that is home]. I think New York is the best place for me to train because it offers opportunities in strength and conditioning, movements that are applicable to MMA, and the level of MMA and cage wrestling."