ONE Championship

The last time she faced this opponent, a decorated judoka spent an entire fight unable to land a single signature throw. More than four years later, she believes that weakness has become a strength.

Itsuki Hirata meets Jihin “Shadow Cat” Radzuan in an atomweight MMA rematch at ONE SAMURAI 4 on Saturday, October 17. The bout takes place at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.

“Android 18” entered ONE X in 2022 with four straight wins on the global stage, three of them by finish. Jihin neutralized her grappling over three rounds and earned a close split decision, handing the Japanese star the first defeat of her career.

That loss exposed vulnerabilities her early wins had masked, and a three-fight skid followed. Rather than let it define her, the 27-year-old spent the years since turning those flaws into strengths.

“Last time I fought her, she controlled me, and I couldn’t do anything on the ground for the whole fight. But now, I’ve improved my grappling, so I have a better chance to defeat her. I’m very much improved, especially with my grappling,” Hirata said.

Itsuki Hirata eyes the vacant atomweight crown

Hirata has won two of her last three outings, including a third-round submission of Ritu Phogat at ONE SAMURAI 1 in April. The ONE Women’s Atomweight MMA World Title now sits vacant after Denice Zamboanga relinquished the belt.

The Tokyo native sees the rematch as a de facto title eliminator. In her mind, the winner should be next in line for gold, and that leaves her no margin for error.

“At first, I thought Jihin was definitely in line to fight for the World Title next. But somehow, we’ve ended up with this rematch. So in my mind, whoever wins this fight should be the next contender for the belt,” Hirata said.

“That’s why I can’t lose this fight. I have to win. I need to win, because if I don’t, I have no right to talk about the World Title.”

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM