Itsuki Hirata says Ham Seo Hee ‘has too much to lose’ in their atomweight clash

Itsuki Hirata feels like her opponent Ham Seo Hee is feeling the pressure ahead of their atomweight clash at ONE 163.

Hirata will have the opportunity to make it into the top rankings if she defeats the No.2-ranked atomweight contender Ham Seo Hee on Saturday, November 19. The matchup has the potential to be a real banger as Ham has a lot more at stake compared to her Japanese counterpart.

The South Korean veteran is coming off of an impressive split-decision victory over Filipina star Denise Zamboanga at the ONE Women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix quarterfinal last year. She was expected to meet Stamp Fairtex in the semi-final, but was regrettably forced to withdraw due to an injury.

It took another rematch with Zamboanga to guarantee her a title shot with the current women’s atomweight world champion, Angela Lee.

So, if she were to lose to an unranked opponent in Itsuki Hirata, she loses her chance to fight for the belt, which Hirata is extremely aware of. ‘Android 18’ told ONE Championship:

“My strong point is [that I have] nothing to lose. I think my opponent has too much to lose. She feels a lot of pressure, I think. She thinks too much about having to win or that she doesn’t want to lose to a young fighter.”

Itsuki Hirata is locked and loaded for her next matchup with a high-level MMA striker. The Japanese star is known for her judo and submission game, however, she’s diversified her fighting style to include Muay Thai and boxing.

Back in the winning column after a decision-victory over Lin Hequin, Hirata wants to keep the momentum going and capture her second straight win against one of the most revered fighters on the roster.

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Itsuki Hirata is confident she’ll eventually beat out Angela Lee to become the next ONE atomweight world champion

Rebounding from a loss in spectacular fashion at ONE on Prime Video 1, Itsuki Hirata is more motivated than ever to become the next ONE women’s atomweight world champion.

Losing to Jihin Radzuan at ONE: X after a perfect five-fight win streak under the promotion, the 23-year-old judoka sought help from overseas to improve her striking game.

Training from one camp to the next in the United States, ‘Android 18’ mentioned feeling a bit more confident and powerful after each new session. The hard work seemed to pay off with her come-from-behind victory against Chinese striker Lin Hequin on August 21.

The win automatically boosted the confidence she once lost, and is striving to make headways to one day get the world title opportunity she yearns for. In the post-fight interview with ONE, Hirata said:

“As I said before, this division has a stacked roster and you know being a top 5 fighter is an amazing thing and also being a champion is more amazing. One day I want to beat Angela Lee and I want to be a world champion in this division.”