What's next for Ham Seo Hee after ONE Fight Night 8

South Korean standout Ham Seo Hee scored her third straight victory inside the circle, defeating Japanese fan-favorite Itsuki Hirata at ONE Fight Night 8.

With the victory, ‘Hamzzang’ has won nine in a row dating back to 2017 and has likely staked her claim as the top contender to the promotion’s reigning atomweight queen Angela Lee. Lee is taking a leave from the promotion following the tragic passing of her younger sister, Victoria Lee. There is no timetable for when the ‘Unstoppable’ champion may return to the circle.

Should the promotion opt to institute an interim atomweight title, Ham Seo See would undoubtedly find herself in the mix, but neither the promotion nor Angela Lee has commented on when or how things will proceed at the top of the division as she continues to mourn the loss of her sister.

Itsuki Hirata will return to the drawing board after suffering her second loss under the ONE Championship banner. Hirata has admitted to struggling with her striking skills and even opened up about concerns regarding her ability to take a shot on the chin from Ham.

That likely played into her game plan on Friday, which proved ineffective against the promotion’s No. 2 ranked atomweight.

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Ham Seo Hee hoped Angela Lee would have been her next opponent

Ham Seo Hee once again established her dominance in the atomweight division on Friday night as she earned a unanimous decision victory over Itsuki Hirata. Understandably, she had hoped the bout would have been against the promotion’s reigning atomweight queen Angela Lee, but ‘Hamzzang’ recognizes that any win inside the circle is another step towards reaching the top of the division:

“Although [I expected] my next opponent to be Angela Lee my main intention was to have a match, so it didn’t matter to me that my next opponent was Itsuki or someone else.”

While there is some uncertainty at the top of the division with Angela Lee currently out of action, Ham Seo Hee is keeping her eyes on the prize and sees every opportunity to step into the circle as another chance to prove herself worthy of the division’s top prize:

“The moment I signed with ONE there was only one goal, to be able to wear the ONE Championship belt around my waist and own it. So to progress towards that and achieve it would be the optimal outcome.”