Ayaka Miura admits failed strawweight title bid fuels her world title hunger: "I have to win this atomweight belt"

Ayaka Miura is using her previous world championship heartbreak as motivation for her upcoming world title challenge against Denice Zamboanga at ONE 173.

'Zombie' reflected on how her unsuccessful bid for the strawweight title against Xiong Jing Nan has intensified her hunger for championship gold at atomweight, a wrong that she has been yearning to right over the past four years.

"I really wanted to win against Xiong Jing Nan to claim the strawweight belt, but that only makes me more motivated to grab the atomweight title and win this fight as well," the 34-year-old Japanese contender shared during her exchange with the South China Morning Post.

"And I also feel that if there's a chance to go back to strawweight and fight for the title, I want to get my revenge. But for now, I have to win this atomweight belt in Japan."

The Tribe Tokyo MMA product booked her shot at the strawweight crown after taking out four opponents by submission. Unfortunately, Xiong had her number in their clash for gold at ONE: Heavy Hitters in January 2022.

Since then, Ayaka Miura has moved one division down, where success has followed suit.

'Zombie' has racked up four successive victories to position her as the next world title challenger to newly crowned queen Denice Zamboanga.

Her determination to capture ONE gold in Japan proves that she's ready to bring the heat and unseat 'The Menace' in their scheduled five-round war inside the Ariake Arena in Japan on Sunday, November 16.

Watch her full interview here:

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Ayaka Miura prepared to show 'some amazing striking' against Zamboanga

Many fans expect Ayaka Miura to instantly take Zamboanga to the canvas when they clash for atomweight MMA supremacy in Tokyo, Japan.

'Zombie,' too, will love that, but she's eager to showcase some upgrades to her game come fight night.

"Maybe I will show some amazing striking in this fight as well, we'll see. I also don't know what the fight will be. We need to see what's going to happen in the fight," she continued in the same interview.

Fight fans can experience the excitement firsthand by purchasing tickets for ONE 173 here.