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Itsuki Hirata is one of ONE Championship's fastest rising stars. Since debuting for the promotion in 2019, 'Android 18' has earned five wins in the ONE Circle, four by way of stoppage.
To celebrate Hirata's high-octane style of fighting, ONE Championship uploaded a video to the promotion's YouTube channel. It featured some of the biggest highlights from Hirata's short but eventful career thus far.
"Feast your eyes on Japanese superstar Itsuki Hirata’s wildest highlights in ONE, featuring “Android 18’s” sensational showdown with Thai fan favourite Rika Ishige in 2019, and more!"
Fighting out of Tokyo, Japan, Itsuki Hirata began training in judo at the age of six. Hirata was something of a prodigy, placing third in a national judo competition when she was in fifth grade.
She would move on to winning a prefectual judo championship in high school. Her ultimate goal after high school was to represent her country in the Olympic games.
Unfortunately, multiple injuries sustained during middle and high school forced Hirata to put the Olympic dream to bed. But she would find another love: mixed martial arts.
Itsuki Hirata wins her way into ONE Championship
After graduating from high school, Hirata began training in MMA in the summer of 2018. A month later, 'Android 18' would step into the cage for her first amateur bout. She earned a victory through submission.
Less than six weeks later, Hirata would fight again as part of the third season of Fighting Agent War, a reality TV series and MMA competition in Japan. Hirata ran through the competition, earning three straight stoppages. In the tournament finals, she defeated Mizuki Furuse, who was trained by Asian MMA legend Shinya Aoki.
Winning the competition, Hirata won ¥3 million and a contract with ONE Championship. She made her ONE debut in June 2019, defeating Angelie Sabanal via first-round submission. The MMA star would go on to win five straight bouts before suffering her first setback in March, when she lost a close split decision to Jihin Radzuan.
While the upset loss to Radzuan at ONE X is certainly a setback, Hirata still has her eyes on challenging reigning ONE atomweight champion Angela Lee in the near future.
