3 of Ham Seo Hee's best weapons against Itsuki Hirata

Second-ranked ONE women’s atomweight contender Ham Seo Hee is ready to put Itsuki Hirata in her place.

Truth be told, ‘Hamzzang’ still has a bone to pick with the Japanese prodigy after her missed weight and hydration fiasco at ONE 163 last year.

After letting bygones be bygones, Ham has agreed to a do-over with ‘Android 18’ at ONE Fight Night 8: Superlek vs. Williams, set for March 24 inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

While Ham is ready to forgive, she’s not exactly forgetting Itsuki’s blatant unprofessionalism anytime soon.

The Team Mad standout will look to exact her revenge in the most poetic way possible: by getting her hand raised this coming Friday.

With that in mind, here are three reasons why Ham Seo Hee is considered the favorite in her matchup with Itsuki Hirata.

ONE Fight Night 8: Superlek vs Williams on Prime Video will stream live in US primetime and free for all Amazon Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.

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#3. Ham Seo Hee has a well-rounded repertoire

A true master of the striking arts by heart, Ham usually prefers to stand and trade, where she found most of her success throughout her storied career.

The former kickboxer first tried her hand at MMA in 2007 and has become a complete martial artist over the years. Despite her sensational skills on the feet, Ham is not a one-trick pony by any means.

The South Korean has put in a lot of work behind closed doors, polishing all aspects of her game, including her wrestling and jiu-jitsu.

Both her striking and grappling defense are quite formidable as well. She even developed a reputation as one of the hardest fighters to finish.

An astute student of the game, Ham covered all her bases and left no weaknesses for her opponents to take advantage of. The same cannot be said of Itsuki, whose striking has still yet to catch up with her grappling.

Unlike ‘Android 18’ whose best bet is to turn this into a grappling war, Ham is confident about her chances wherever this fight goes.

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#2. Ham Seo Hee’s wealth of experience

With over 30 mixed martial arts bouts to her name, Ham Seo Hee’s resume is light years ahead of the youngster Itsuki.

Ham might be 13 years Itsuki’s senior, but it clearly doesn’t show. In fact, her strength and conditioning look better than it’s ever been since taking her talents to ONE Championship.

Aside from her versatile skillset, what separates Ham from other contenders in the division is her incredible fight IQ.

Despite her aggressive fighting style, ‘Hamzzang’ has managed to evade wear and tear over the years because of her ability to fight smartly.

We’ve seen Ham struggle before, but her ability to adapt and make changes mid-fight makes her a dangerous match against any female fighter in the world.

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#1. Ham Seo Hee has fight-ending power

Ham started her career as a methodical and strategic fighter, with 18 of her 25 career wins coming by decision.

‘Hamzzang’, though, may have found the fountain of youth with four savage finishes during her current eight-fight winning streak. While Denice Zamboanga survived the South Korean’s onslaught inside the circle, she was beaten up pretty badly in those two encounters.

Itsuki, who’s not exactly known for her striking, would be in for a world of hurt if she foolishly decides to test the second-ranked fighter’s prowess on the feet. Plus, let’s not forget that the Filipino fighter tried to impose her wrestling on Ham in their last bout. Look at how that turned out for her.

Ham has been there with some of the best female grapplers in the world and has continued to sharpen her defenses in preparation for an established judoka like Itsuki.

Her clinch work will be key in this matchup, while her sharp kickboxing attacks should keep Itsuki at bay.

Re-watch the striking clinic Ham Seo Hee put up against Denice Zamboanga in their rematch: