Alyse Anderson targeting improved performance, ready to right mistakes from debut against Itsuki Hirata

Alyse Anderson is ready to showcase an upgraded version of herself when she returns to ONE Championship.

The atomweight star failed to get the dream start she was looking for in the Singapore-based promotion. Anderson lost to Japan’s Itsuki Hirata in the ONE Women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix quarterfinals at ONE: Empower last year.

It's now been five months since that narrow defeat, and Alyse Anderson has recognized and worked on her shortcomings while planning for her sophomore appearance in the Circle.

During an interview with ONE Championship, she said:

“I knew that [Hirata] was going to be good with the judo throw. So, I did work extensively on you know, keeping my hips and not getting taken down. And obviously, like, that's where I lost the fight, especially against the fence when I thought I could get my head out when I thought I could create space."

According to her, nerves might have taken their toll as it was her promotional debut. However, she slowly started to correct her mistakes as the match progressed. Anderson says she's learned from the bout:

“When I started letting my hands go in the third round, you know, it's when I dropped her. And I just know if I would have started that way, I could have avoided clinching and the takedowns altogether. So, I made two mistakes but I definitely learned from them.”

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Alyse Anderson feels she would have taken the victory if the match had been longer

Alyse Anderson couldn't solve the judoka specialist’s trickery on the canvas during their 15-minute battle.

However, late in the third round, the Michigan native started to impose her presence on Itsuki Hirata. She even floored the Japanese fighter courtesy of a right hook. That short spell of dominance wasn't enough to convince the judges to sway the decision in favor of the debuting star.

Alyse Anderson feels that if the match had carried on for a couple more rounds, she would've become the first athlete to put a dent on Itsuki Hirata’s perfect MMA resume:

“I think in the third round, it's when I was really putting stuff together and learning my distance. And I could tell she was getting tired. And that was the first fight that I didn't gas at all, probably because I was stuck at the bottom, just laying there, trying to get up. But I felt like I was starting to put things together."