Yuya Wakamatsu says losing to Adriano Moraes in 2022 was his biggest motivation at ONE 172: “I was not strong enough”

Newly crowned ONE flyweight MMA world champion Yuya Wakamatsu revealed the biggest motivation behind his impressive outing at ONE 172. The No.2-ranked contender squared off against top-ranked Adriano Moraes inside the Saitama Super Arena last Sunday, March 23, and while the odds were massively stacked against him, 'Little Piranha' stuck to the plan that led to one of his fastest career wins.

Yuya Wakamatsu brought the fight to 'Mikinho' and caught him with a left just as they exited the clinch. From there, the Tribe Tokyo MMA athlete wrapped things up with a final volley of strikes to seal the deal, avenge his loss, and claim his first MMA world title at the 3:39 mark of the bout.

Not many had him winning in that manner. The Japanese, for his part, was sort of surprised by how quickly he got the job done. However, as he told members assembled inside the historic venue, with revenge on his mind, anything is possible:

"I was just focusing and facing that to win myself from the [fight] three years ago. I believe I think that three years ago I was not strong enough."

To make matters sweeter, 'Little Piranha' went back home US$50,000 richer. There will be plenty of challengers who'd like to steal Wakamatsu's prized possession, but in the form he's in, trouble is a certainty for whoever stands across him.

Watch the full post-fight press conference here:

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Yuya Wakamatsu says discipline will be his key tool as a world champion

Yuya Wakamatsu doesn't plan to rest on his laurels just because he's achieved his goal of becoming an MMA world champion. He plans to use his historic achievement to conquer more hurdles and extend his reign as the flyweight divisional king for as long as he can.

He took to his Instagram account to send a warning to his hungry contenders. Part of his post read:

"From now on, as a champion, I will be even stricter on myself than before, and do my best while having fun to defend the throne. Thank you so much to everyone for your support!!!"

Check out the post below:

Fight fans can catch the entire ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang card via replay at watch.onefc.com.