Yuya Wakamatsu says his "heart and spirit" drove him to dominate Gilbert Nakatani

Yuya Wakamatsu knew he had to dig deep to secure the win over American debutant Gilbert Nakatani at ONE Fight Night 26.

Thankfully, the Japanese superstar had determination in abundance as the action-packed fight unfolded inside the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, last Friday, Dec. 6.

'Little Piranha' successfully protected his spot as the No. 2-ranked contender in the loaded flyweight division after the 15-minute war that tested both men's all-around prowess.

When asked by the Bangkok Post about his recipe to success, the Japanese martial artist simply replied:

"Yeah. I did it with my heart and spirit."

The 29-year-old's triumph in the Thai capital last week gave him a three-match winning run, which started with a highlight-reel knockout of Xie Wei at ONE Fight Night 12 in July last year.

More importantly, it should give the Tribe Tokyo MMA affiliate more cookie points as he seeks to secure another shot at the now-vacant flyweight crown, which is still in search of a new owner after Demetrious Johnson called time on his legendary career at ONE 168: Denver.

Watch his full interview on Bangkok Post here:

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Yuya Wakamatsu dreaming of world title success, says Japan will be the perfect venue for him to capture gold

It didn't take Yuya Wakamatsu long to stake his claim to the ONE world title at ONE Fight Night 26.

Moments after getting his hand raised via unanimous decision, the Kagoshima-born athlete told Mitch Chilson during the in-ring interview that his eyes are locked on a world title matchup back home.

He said:

"I know that I'm going to be the one to take that championship, and I want the next title match to be held in Japan. Oh, that would be tremendous."

The ONE Fight Night 26 replay is available on Amazon Prime Video for North American fans.