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Former ONE strawweight world champion Alex Silva will be battling rising Japanese star Keito Yamakita at ONE Fight Night 8 on Prime Video set for next month.
The strawweight match-up was recently added by the promotion to the stacked March 24 live event happening at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
The fight will feature a veteran who has practically seen everything in ONE against a promotion-debuting fighter carrying blue-chip credentials, including as Pancrase strawweight champion with an unblemished record.
Silva will look to bounce back after dropping his last fight in October by a narrow split decision.
Speaking to ONE Championship, Alex Silva said he is excited to mix it up with Yamakita and show that he still has it to fight at a high level even at this stage of his career:
“He's a good, young and champion fighter. He has all of my respect! I think it is a good match-up. He looks very well-rounded as a fighter. He’s a champion in Japan. I love this kind of challenge. This is what motivates me to keep fighting till now.”
He added:
“I think we guys will see a little bit of some striking, but this fight will end up on the ground. I will submit him in the 2 or 3 round!”
Yamakita shares the same excitement in making his ONE debut against a decorated fighter like Alex Silva. He told ONE in an interview:
“Since the moment I got Pancrase title, I've been preparing for this opportunity to fight at ONE Championship. When I got this offer, I really felt how serious ONE is and I can see the expectation from ONE because they're giving me Alex Silva who is a former ONE World Champion.”
Yamakita added:
“This fight is going to be non-stop in both ground and stand games. I will aim for the finish. I respect Alex Silva but if I want to be ONE world champion, I cannot lose at this level. It's my turn to shine. I will represent Pancrase and Japan. I will get the belt. This is the first step!”
ONE Fight Night 8 will be aired live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.
Alex Silva ties ONE Championship submission record with ONE 158 victory
Brazilian fighter Alex Silva has had a long and accomplished career in ONE Championship, boosted by noteworthy milestones. Among them is sharing the record for most submissions in the promotion with legendary Japanese fighter Shinya Aoki.
'Little Rock' took a share of history when he submitted Indonesian Adrian Mattheis in the opening round of their strawweight rematch at ONE 158 in June last year. It was the ninth submission finish for the former ONE strawweight world champion, a feat that only he and Aoki have reached up to this point.
In the post-fight interview, Alex Silva shared that he was proud of what he had achieved, especially since grappling is something he has worked on throughout his career:
“This is my strong part, is my grappling.”
The submission win also earned Silva a $50,000 performance bonus.
'Little Rock' now has the chance to become the all-time record holder for most submissions on March 24 at ONE Fight Night 8 in Singapore against the ONE-debuting Japanese fighter Keito Yamakita.
