Japanese atomweight sensation Itsuki Hirata takes on Lin Heqin at ONE 161

Japanese female atomweight star ‘Android 18’ Itsuki Hirata will look to get back in the winner’s circle when she faces Chinese ‘MMA Sister’ Lin Heqin at ONE 161: Moraes vs. Johnson II. The fight was recently announced by the promotion along with the full card on Instagram.

ONE 161 is headlined by a ONE flyweight world title rematch between defending champion Adriano ‘Mikinho’ Moraes of Brazil and Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson of the United States.

The event is broadcast live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium, and streams on US prime time via Amazon Prime Video on Friday, August 26th.

Itsuki Hirata was last seen at ONE X this past March, where she suffered the first defeat of her professional career at the hands of Malaysia’s Jihin ‘Shadow Cat’ Radzuan. The bout went the distance and, in the end, Jihin was awarded a narrow split decision victory for her efforts.

Up until then, Itsuki Hirata had been a highly regarded atomweight surging towards the top five in the division. However, Jihin’s tricky ground game and well-versed striking style gave ‘Android 18’ fits. The loss prompted Hirata to rededicate herself to improving on all fronts as a mixed martial artist. Now, the 22-year-old believes she has emerged a much better fighter.

Meanwhile, Lin Heqin is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Vietnamese-American star Bi ‘Killer Bee’ Nguyen in February of this year. Prior to that, she suffered defeat at the hands of Indian wrestling champion Ritu ‘The Indian Tigress’ Phogat.

Heqin joined ONE Championship in 2019 to much fanfare as one of the fastest rising Chinese mixed martial arts talents in the world.

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Itsuki Hirata wants to run it back with Jihin Radzuan

If she defeats Heqin at ONE 161, Itsuki Hirata will have one thing on her mind, and that’s to get Jihin Radzuan back in the Circle in a rematch. ‘Android 18’ feels she was not able to fully represent her capabilities in the first fight, and that a second fight is warranted.

Speaking to ONE Championship, Hirata said:

“I definitely want a rematch with Jihin Radzuan, if not now, then somewhere down the road. I feel like I was not able to represent myself well in the first fight and what I’m really capable of. We have to settle our unfinished business, and in the next fight, I will surely win. It cannot end like this. We have to fight again.”

However, Hirata needs to be careful not to underestimate Heqin, or else suffer another devastating setback in her promising MMA career.