Japanese star Kana Morimoto teases highly awaited ONE Championship debut: “I’ve been training very hard”

Japanese kickboxing superstar Kana Morimoto is training hard for her yet-to-be-announced debut in ONE Championship.

Last month, Morimoto signed a deal with ONE to finally bring her world-class kickboxing skills from K-1 to martial arts' biggest global stage. Thus far, no official announcements have been made regarding who her first opponent will be or when she'll step inside the Circle.

However, Morimoto recently revealed in an interview with Nick Atkins that she's training hard and actively preparing for an upcoming fight.

"I’ve been training very hard," she said. "I’m actually preparing for an upcoming fight. It’s been great."

Morimoto has already held world titles in multiple organizations, including Krush where she is a former two-time flyweight titleholder. She defended the title four times between her two different reigns which is tied for the second-most in promotional history.

She is also a former K-1 flyweight champion with three defenses which also puts her in second place for most consecutive defenses. Morimoto also won the 2019 K-1 Women's Flyweight World Grand Prix tournament and was named Beyond Kickboxing's 2022 Female Fighter of the Year.

Check out some of Morimoto's greatest career highlights below:

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Kana Morimoto has her sights set on a clash with Phetjeeja

Kana Morimoto has made it very clear that she has her sights set on a scrap with Muay Thai sensation Phetjeeja. But, she knows that she'll first have to establish herself under the ONE Championship banner before earning an opportunity to face the reigning ONE atomweight kickboxing world champion.

"So the best scenario is whoever ONE Championship puts in front of me, I have to finish the opponent, and within a year I want to fight Phetjeeja.”

Last year, Phetjeeja bested Anissa Meksen in her kickboxing debut to win the interim belt. Three months later, she traded in the temporary title for undisputed gold, defeating Janet Todd at ONE Fight Night 20 to become the division's undisputed queen.

Who comes out on top when two of the most exciting strikers in women's combat sports inevitably square off?