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Chihiro Sawada believes her massive unanimous decision win over JIhin Radian this past weekend will push her MMA career to greater heights. The Japanese standout dominated Jihin in their women’s atomweight MMA showdown at ONE Fight Night 20 in Bangkok.
After claiming her second win in ONE Championship, Sawada said in her post-fight interview the victory over the highly acclaimed Malaysian star was a crucial juncture in her growing career.
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Chihiro Sawada said:
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“My victory means a lot to me. I think it’s because my opponent was Jihin herself. Jihin was a ranked athlete and had a lot of experience. She’s very good both in skills and physically.”
Sawada is regarded as the top pound-for-pound female fighter in Japan, but her victory over Jihin on the world stage might be the biggest win of her career so far.
Jihin is the fifth-ranked women’s atomweight MMA contender and has notable wins over Bi Nguyen, Mei Yamaguchi, and Itsuki Hirata.
Chihiro Sawada expects to climb up the ranks after stellar showing
A natural grappler with a refined wrestling base, Chihiro Sawada had no problems implementing her game plan against Jihin at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.
Although she was four inches shorter than ‘Shadow Cat’, the 4-foot-11 Sawada rag-dolled the Malaysian star in their grappling exchanges and even threatened with several submission attempts.
In the same interview, Sawada said her victory over Jihin could catapult her to tougher fights in ONE Championship.
“This victory is going to make me a ranked athlete and of course from now on, I’m going to face nothing but strong opponents. I will keep an attitude as if I were a challenger so that I’m not overconfident. To challenge for the world title, I think I need to gain more experience. I don’t think I can immediately challenge for the title yet, but I need to steadily improve.”
ONE Fight Night 20 is available on free replay to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.
