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At ONE Fight Night 8: Superlek vs. Williams this past weekend, Ham Seo Hee had one thing on her mind.
Approaching her clash with Japan’s Itsuki Hirata, the fight was seen as a number one contender’s matchup, with the winner cementing their place as the next in line for the world title.
Within touching distance of her ultimate goal in ONE Championship, Ham knew that all she needed to do was get her hand raised against Hirata by any means necessary. That’s exactly what she did.
With a unanimous decision victory, ‘Hamzzang’ has earned a shot at the world championship. At this time, it remains unclear whether Angela Lee will be back to defend her atomweight world championship sometime soon, but that isn’t what is important to Ham Seo Hee.
Having received confirmation from ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong that she will fight for a world championship of some kind in her next fight, the South Korean veteran had achieved her goal.
In her post-event interview, she said:
“I was very happy. I got chills when I heard directly from Mr. Chatri Sityodtong. It's the only thing I've wanted since joining this organization, and I'm very excited.”
Ham Seo Hee admits extra attention from ‘famous fighter’ Itsuki Hirata made her nervous
Whilst Ham Seo Hee remained focused on the task at hand in her last fight, she admitted after the contest that external factors played into her mindset.
At ONE Fight Night 8, the South Korean met Japan’s Itsuki Hirata in a heated clash that had been a long-time coming. The two atomweight standouts were originally scheduled to face-off at ONE 163 in November, but the fight was called off at late notice due to Hirata missing weight and failing her hydration test.
Throughout all of the build-up, ‘Hamzzang’ chose to remain focused on what this fight meant. Regardless of who would be standing across from her inside the circle, another win would earn her a shot at the world championship.
With her unanimous decision win on March 24, Ham has guaranteed herself a world championship fight next time out, whether it’s against current titleholder Angela Lee or not.
Reflecting on her mindset going into the fight with Hirata, she opened up about feeling some extra pressure for this fight due to her opponent’s profile.
In her post-event interview, she said:
“I recognize the fact that Itsuki Hirata is a very, very famous person and a very famous fighter. And a lot of attention was actually directed toward me, and that made me nervous a little bit.”
