The judo style of Japanese MMA star Itsuki Hirata was on full display when he faced off against compatriot Rika Ishige in October 2019 at ONE: Century Part I during their atomweight MMA showdown, which went down inside Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan.
A prime example of this was the sequence that ONE Championship recently reposted on their Instagram account, where Hirata was dominating Ishige on the ground.
The caption of the post read:
"Locked in 🎯 💥 Will Itsuki Hirata defeat Victoria Souza in their atomweight MMA battle at ONE 167 on @primevideo? @_itsuki_h_"
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In the video, 'Android 18' was maximizing the legality of knee strikes on grounded opponents as she landed a powerful knee straight to 'Tiny Doll's' that stunned her and opened up the opportunity for ground-and-pound punches.
That moment was only part of the total domination of Hirata because she eventually got the job done with a second-round submission victory to bag her second triumph under the promotion.
Itsuki Hirata looks to snap her two-fight skid against Victoria Souza at ONE 167
Itsuki Hirata is coming off a unanimous decision loss at the hands of Ayaka Miura from her previous bout in January 2024 at ONE 165. It was her first back-to-back loss under the world's largest martial arts organization, and she now wants to break this skid in her upcoming fight.
The Serra-Longo Fight Team athlete will face Brazilian contender Victoria Souza on June 7 at ONE 167 at Impact Arena crowd in Bangkok, Thailand. A win for the Japanese combat sports star would inch her closer to a spot in the top five rankings of the atomweight MMA division.
ONE 167 is available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America in U.S. primetime on June 7.