Ayaka Miura vows to capture ONE gold in front of Japanese crowd: "I believe I will gain this title in front of the home fans"

Former ONE world title challenger and Japanese submission specialist ‘Zombie’ Ayaka Miura is determined to make the most of her rare opportunity to compete for ONE Championship gold on home soil. Miura challenges ‘The Menace’ Denice Zamboanga for the ONE women's atomweight MMA world title at ONE 173: Superbon vs. Noiri.

The 34-year-old third-degree black belt judoka will face the newly crowned Filipina for the crown at Tokyo's state-of-the-art Ariake Arena on November 16, representing a career-defining moment in front of her Japanese fans.

Miura told SCMP MMA:

"This is going to be a Japan event, I'm going for the title and I believe I will gain this title in front of the home fans. I'm really happy and honored to fight for this title fight in Japan."

The Tribe Tokyo MMA representative moved down to atomweight and compiled a perfect five-fight winning streak since first challenging ‘The Panda’ Xiong Jing Nan for the strawweight title in 2022.

Four of those victories have come via submission, showcasing her signature ‘Ayaka Lock’, a modified scarf-hold Americana.

The emotional weight of competing for gold in Tokyo adds extra motivation to Miura’s quest for championship glory.

ONE 173: Superbon vs. Noiri will go down live at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday, November 16. Fans in North America can check out watch.onefc.com for more information on how to catch the event live.

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Ayaka Miura to leave no doubt against Denice Zamboanga at ONE 173: “I want to win in a decisive way”

‘Zombie’ Ayaka Miura believes that in order to truly be deserving of wearing the ONE women’s atomweight MMA world title around her waist, she has to beat ‘The Menace’ Denice Zamboanga in epic fashion.

She told ONE Championship:

“My finish rate is really high, so I want to win in a decisive way. That said, it’s a five-round fight, and I’m prepared to win no matter how messy or chaotic it gets. I’ll be ready for anything during this final stretch of training.”

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