Japanese Star Itsuki Hirata Feels ‘Stronger’ Training in America After a Win Over Chinese Fighter; Eyes to Avenge Only Career Loss Against Jihin Radzuan

ONE Championship star Itsuki “Android 18” Hirata picked up her fifth win inside the ONE Circle at ONE Prime Video 1: Moraes vs. Johnson II this past Friday, August 26. 

The judoka specialist’s newly developed striking skills helped her earn a unanimous decision win over “MMA Sister” Lin Heqin in their catchweight bout at the historic event, which was broadcast live in U.S. primetime by streaming giant Prime Video. 

Speaking on her latest triumph, Hirata credited the month-long training camp she underwent in preparation for her showdown with the Chinese sensation – and said there are better performances to come. 

“I only spent four weeks, but I feel that I improved a lot. That means if I train more, I can be stronger. So I want to keep training. But first I want to go back to Japan to see my family. Because I haven’t been back to Japan for a while, so maybe I will stay two weeks in Japan, and then I will go back to the USA again,” the 23-year-old said.

In the lead-up to this contest, “Android 18” traveled to America to focus on improving her striking game, and this shone through when she stepped into the Circle.

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Taking a different approach to her previous outings, she didn’t look for a takedown in each exchange. Instead, Hirata set up her entries with heavy hands and good movement, and this helped her floor Lin late in the match.

Itsuki Hirata was surprised by Lin Heqin’s game-plan

Her overall performance and much-improved striking artillery convinced all three judges to score the contest in her favor when the action drew to a close. 

To her credit, Lin put up a good fight and defended well against Hirata’s takedown attempts while landing some heavy shots.

The Krazy Bee athlete admits that Lin’s willingness to take the match to the canvas surprised her, as she was prepared to stand and bang with the kickboxing specialist.

“I thought this fight was going to be a striking fight, but I guess my opponent Lin Heqin [wanted to test] my grappling game, but I wanted to showcase my striking because I trained a lot in the States,” Hirata said.

Friday’s victory took “Android 18” back into the winner’s column after a disappointing loss to Jihin “Shadow Cat” Radzuan in her last match. 

Now she’s hoping to earn some redemption against the Malaysian star in the hopes of climbing back into the atomweight ranking.

“I will bring my MMA fight for the next one if I get a rematch against Jihin Radzuan. I’m sure I will be above my level, way over Jihin Radzuan. So, I am confident,” Hirata said.

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