Undefeated atomweight prospect Itsuki Hirtata has a massive opportunity ahead of her in the ONE Championship atomweight grand prix.
Originally scheduled to kick off in May, the coronavirus pandemic saw the tournament pushed back to September, but the all-female ONE: Empower card remains intact. As does Hirtata’s match-up with Alyse Anderson.
Speaking to Cageside Press in an exclusive interview ahead of the fight, the 21-year old Hirata (4-0) gave her assessment of opponent Anderson. “From what I can tell, she has really long limbs, and she’ll definitely use that to her advantage, and her reach to her advantage,” Hirata suggested. “As well as some stand-up grappling skills as well.”
Recognizing the size difference between herself and Anderson, Japan’s Hirata revealed that she’d taken to training with larger partners.
Anderson, an Invicta FC veteran, wasn’t exactly Itsuki Hirata’s first choice for an opponent in the grand prix tournament. “From early on, I always wanted to fight Meng Bo, but because it is a bracket, because it is a tournament, I kind of want to compete against Stamp [Fairtex] down the line as well,” she told us. As to who she expects to make it to the final (besides herself, of course), “I think Ham Seo-Hee is really expected to go up the bracket, but personally, I think Meng Bo would be really competitive to go down to the finals as well.”
In terms of preparing for a tournament, and whether that changes anything in fight camp, Hirtata explained that “I think it will be special in some ways, but I just feel, and this is always the case, that I can’t lose. That doesn’t really change but I understand that if I do lose, I’m out of the grand prix, and that’s the end right there.” With that in mind, Hirtata admitted to feeling “a certain pressure in some ways to do the best I can.”
Through her four professional fights, Hirata has yet to go to a decision. That’s a trend she intends to continue at the ONE: Empower card. “Even in my next fight, I think it’ll be a KO, or I’ll be looking for a submission. I don’t think it’ll go to the judges.” Later, Hirata would add that “personally, I want to finish with a submission.”
Empower is a historic event for ONE Championship, and not just because it’s the launch of the grand prix, whose winner will face Angela Lee for the title sometime next year. It’s also the first time a major promotion outside of Invicta (which is an all-female fight promotion) has held an all-female card.
Asked what the occasion meant to her, Hirata noted that “It’s the first time, as you mentioned, that this is possible in a major organization.” Especially with COVID-19 still locking down much of the world, “I know it’s going to be huge. I want to prove that female fighters can have an exciting card just as much as the male fighters, and among that card, I want to prove that I have the best, or most exciting, match-up.”
At all of 21-years old, there’s a possibility that by the end of the grand prix and subsequent title fight, Itsuki Hirata could be a world champion by 22. But while fighters like Maycee Barber have put deadlines in place to become the youngest champion in a given promotion, Hirata explained that she’s just putting all of herself into fighting right now — and fighting may not even be her long-term future.
“People tell me that I’m young, and remind me that I’m young quite frequently, but I don’t really see myself doing this long-term necessarily,” she explained. “So I’m putting all of myself into what I’m capable of right now.”
Long-term, she stated, when it comes to martial arts, “I want to become champion, get the belt, and I want keep winning obviously, on a global stage.” Besides martial arts, however, “when I stray from martial arts, I want to be able to teach kids not just martial arts, but let them know how fun it is to move their bodies and exercise and stay active. As well as empower women in martial arts, but also again in terms of exercise. So maybe opening a female gym of some sort.”
For now, however, the title remains the goal, and that starts with Alyse Anderson on September 3.
Watch our full interview with ONE Championship atomweight grand prix fighter Itsuki Hirata above. ONE: Empower takes place September 3 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore.
