With COVID-19 restrictions being eased in Singapore, it looks like One Championship will finally be able to start their Atomweight tournament on September 3rd. This will be nearly a year since it was originally announced in October of 2020. Since then, the tournament has been postponed and participants have changed and then unchanged. For those who are unfamiliar, the tournament includes 8 fighters from 8 different countries and the winner will face the long-tenured champion, Angela Lee. Representing Japan will be the popular and vocal Itsuki Hirata. On August 17th, at an open-workout she hosted, she was asked for her thoughts on the tournament by Gong Magazine. In response to the question she stated, “I think it’s very special to have a women’s only event and it’s also refreshing since all the young male fighters will be watching. I don’t want to show them a ‘girl’s’ fight, I want them to think it’s cool for women to fight hard and be like heroes, so I’m thinking that I would like to show them the strength of women.”
Having gotten into Judo when she was 6, Itsuki got involved in mixed martial arts in 2018, after she graduated from high school. Later in the same year, she made her amateur debut and then took part in the fighting reality show, Fighting Agent War. The show aired on Abema TV, a popular streaming service in Japan, and featured young fighters that were recommended by legends of the sport. The fighters all fought in a tournament format, with the winner getting a $30,000 bonus and a contract with One Championship. Itsuki went on to finish all of her opponents and win the tournament. In this way, Itsuki is unique in that she is one of the few fighters to sign to a major promotion without any professional experience. However, she has been flawless since turning pro, putting together a record of 4-0, with all of her wins coming via finish.
In December of last year, in a series of heated tweets, Itsuki announced that she had stopped training at K-Clann, where she had been training since her start. Since then, she appears to be training primarily at Krazy Bee. When asked about the change, Itsuki noted that one of the positives is that she now has access to female sparring partners. She can now spar with former Deep Jewels title challenger Si Woo Park, current Rizin fighter and 3-time wrestling world champion Miyuu Yamamoto, and a number of prospects and up-and-comers.
In addition to Krazy Bee, Itsuki is also training at Target, a kickboxing gym, with current Rise fighter Akari, who just recently fought for a title, and her high profile coach, Erika Kamimura. This looks to be a wise move for several reasons. First, as a former Muay Thai and kickboxing champion, Erika is one of the most decorated female strikers in Japanese history, who at 28 years old is still able to spar with her students. Second and more specific to the tournament, Erika has fought the highest ranked participant, Seo Hee Ham, twice. In addition to Ham, Erika has also fought numerous high ranking Thai fighters, like current UFC fighter Loma Lookboonmee, which will be useful, should a fight with Thailand’s Stamp Fairtex emerge. With this experience, Erika should be able to provide advice on at least two of the best strikers in tournament. On a final note relating to Target, some have noted that Akari’s build is similar to that of Alyse Anderson, Itsuki’s opponent in the opening round, making her a good stand-in and sparring partner.
Itsuki Hirata is scheduled to face Alyse Anderson on September 3rd in the opening round of the One Championship Atomweight tournament.
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