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Japanese striking sensation Yuki Yoza is the type to give credit when it's due.
The 27-year-old Japanese star entered his promotional debut at ONE Friday Fights 109 last May 23 with the utmost confidence, with the belief that he was much better than his opponent, Elbrus Osmanov.
Yoza walked the talk and used crushing body and leg kicks to dominate 'Samurai' for three rounds en route to a dominant unanimous decision win in their bantamweight kickboxing contest.
While the Team Vasileus athlete knew he had victory in the bag, he didn't expect his Russian foe to be as tough as he was.
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Yuki Yoza told ONE Championship in his post-event interview:
"I usually set my expectations of opponents quite high, so they rarely exceed them. But Osmanov's power and other aspects exceeded my imagination, so he was strong. His offensive power was incredible."
Osmanov brought the fight to Yoza, especially in round 1, where he matched the Japanese speedster's speed. The Russian hard-hitter even tagged the former K-1 lightweight world champion several times with precise punch combinations.
Yoza, however, adjusted his game plan and use crippling kicks to halt Osmanov's pressure and turn the tides of victory in his favor.
Yuki Yoza says there's nothing special about his signature calf kicks
Japanese strikers certainly have some of the best calf kicks in the world, and Yuki Yoza continued that trend at ONE Friday Fights 109.
The Team Vasileus man chopped down the aggressive Osmanov with some lower-body assault, which heavily compromised the Russian's movement and accuracy.
In the same interview with ONE, Yoza downplayed the complexities of those kicks, claiming he simply throws them as hard as he can:
"It's simple - kick with full force with the intention of breaking their leg bone. Don't think about unnecessary things like 'what if it gets caught' - just kick with full power. It sounds simple but it's diffcult, and that's the key point."
