“I'd like to finish the fight with submission” - Itsuki Hirata looking to take fight to the ground against Lin Heqin

Itsuki Hirata’s game plan is straight-forward and simple: set up a trap and finish the fight with a submission.

The Japanese rising star will square off with Chinese boxing sensation, Lin Heqin in an atomweight bout at ONE on Prime Video 1. She will face a seasoned and well-rounded fighter in Heqin, but Hirata hopes to break her down with her grappling-heavy fighting style.

In an exclusive interview with ONE Championship, the 22 year-old standout revealed how she plans on beating the Chinese striker:

“I'd like to finish the fight with submission while mixing it up with striking. I hope to finish early, but my opponent has a long reach and a sense of distance, so let’s see how close I can set up against her.”

Hirata has a newfound motivation heading into her matchup. A lone loss over Malaysia’s Jihin Radzuan last March had her in low spirits and she feared she wouldn’t be able to cope with the defeat after achieving such a dominant run of 5-0 under the ONE banner.

After spending over a month in the United States, training in top facilities in California, the self-confidence is back and she’s ready to showcase a souped up version of ‘Android 18’ for American audiences to see.

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Itsuki Hirata’s judo wrestling style may be the key to her success against Lin Heqin

Itsuki Hirata may find some early success against Lin Heqin if she sticks to her game plan. The Japanese judoka is an exceptional grappler with a record of 5 submissions overall.

On the flip side, Heqin is coming off a strong decision-win against Bi Nguyen. But prior to that she experienced her first loss against ‘The Indian Tigress’ Ritu Phogat in 2021.

While Heqin showed good takedown defense in the first round, she was ultimately overpowered by Phogat’s elite wrestling skills. By the second round, the 28 year-old striker was wearing down which allowed ‘The Indian Tigress’ to rev up the pressure and score a couple more takedowns.

Although Heqin may have done her due diligence in focusing on her ground game, Hirata still has the upper hand. Fans will be curious to see what kind of adjustments ‘Android 18’ has made in her striking and in her wrestling if she’s looking to take that early finish.