“I feel like I'm still far away from the title shot” - Itsuki Hirata content on taking career slowly

ONE atomweight fighter, Itsuki Hirata, is slowly picking up the pieces after suffering her first career loss at ONE X last March. Considered one of the top prospects to become the next big thing in the division, 'Android 18' had her ascent halted by Malaysia's Jihin Radzuan via a close split decision win.

After the loss, Hirata went back to the drawing board and went on a US tour to cross-train in some of the best MMA gyms in America. Now that she's bound to face China's Lin Heqin on the main card of ONE on Prime Video 1, Hirata is primed to bounce back.

Speaking at ONE Championship, Hirata spoke about her plans for her career and what the rest of 2022 looks like for her:

"Time really flies. I had wanted to have two more fights this year and hoped to challenge for a title match this year, but currently, I feel like I'm still far away from the title shot. I want to keep solidifying myself enough to take on much stronger fighters next year instead of that."

Hirata shows a level of humility that belies her young age. Most young fighters tend to be ambitious and at times arrogant when it comes to their career trajectories. Hirata, however, chose to be humble and made her assessment based on a more realistic look into her career.

---

Itsuki Hirata trained in various gyms in the US to prepare for Lin Heqin

Ever since her upset loss at ONE X, Itsuki Hirata has been nothing but diligent in making the necessary improvements to her MMA game.

So much so that 'Android 18' went to the US to cross-train in different world-class gyms, bringing her MMA game to the next level. Some of the gyms that Hirata trained in were Ray Longo's LAW MMA, 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu San Diego, and Matt Serra's Team Serra BJJ.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Hirata expressed her thoughts on her cross-training in the US:

“I went [to the US] because there is a wide range of athletes. There are many athletes with a long reach, height, and many female athletes. I thought, ‘I’m going to compete against non-Japanese athletes, so let’s go train abroad and challenge the people I’ve never experienced.'"

As a pro fighter, it's essential to get different looks and insights to diversify your training and improve your game. This is how you grow as a fighter.

Hirata is a good fighter in the sense that she has the humility to learn new things from different people, not just from her usual coaches and training partners. Itsuki Hirata is taking the best possible route to bounce back from the loss and improve her MMA game.