“There’s something wonderful about that” - Yuya Wakamatsu honored to challenge for the belt inside legendary Saitama Super Arena

Yuya Wakamatsu talked about the "wonderful" aspect of fighting inside the historic Saitama Super Arena.

On Dec. 6, Wakamatsu extended his winning streak to three fights with a unanimous decision against Gilbert Nakatani. As a result, the No. 2-ranked flyweight has been selected to compete for the division's vacant world title.

Wakamatsu is scheduled to fight former world champion Adriano Moraes in the ONE 172 co-main event on March 23, 2025. The upcoming event goes down inside the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

During the ONE 172 press conference, Wakamatsu had this to say about fighting in the legendary venue in his home country:

"The merits of the ring are just vague, but I think it’s advantageous for strikers. Also, I have a great affinity with the ring, and this time, PRIDE was held at the Super Arena, so there’s something wonderful about that, too."

ONE 172 is expected to be one of the most entertaining events for the promotion's upcoming calendar year. Following Adriano Moraes vs. Yuya Wakamatsu, Rodtang Jitmuangnon and Takeru Segawa will battle in a must-see non-title kickboxing bout at flyweight.

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Yuya Wakamatsu looks to avenge previous defeat against Adriano Moraes

In March 2022, Yuya Wakamatsu and Adriano Moraes were matched up for the legendary ONE X event. The flyweight MMA fighters battled for nearly three rounds before Moraes emerged victorious by third-round submission.

Since then, Moraes has fought twice, including back-to-back losses against the recently retired Demetrious Johnson. The Brazilian superstar returned to the win column in November with a second-round submission win against Danny Kingad, punching his ticket to the vacant flyweight world title fight at ONE 172.

As for Yuya Wakamatsu, he suffered a second consecutive after fighting Moraes due to a first-round knockout against Woo Sung Hoon. The Japanese flyweight overcame adversity with wins against Xie Wei (first-round knockout), Danny Kingad (unanimous decision), and Gilbert Nakatani (unanimous decision).

At 29 years old, Wakamatsu seems to have entered the prime of his fighting career. He now looks to capitalize on the experience he gained and defeat Moraes to become the new ONE flyweight MMA world champion.

Check out the first fight between Moraes and Wakamatsu below: