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The announcement of ONE Championship’s return to Japan for ONE 165 in Tokyo, Japan, on January 28, 2024, has sent shockwaves throughout the entire combat sports community as they announced the two huge fights that the card will be built around.
ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon and Japanese legend Takeru Seagawa will headline the event inside the Ariake Arena, where they will throw hands in a flyweight kickboxing super-fight.
The other fight that was announced is an equally impressive one, as former ONE lightweight MMA world champion Shinya Aoki will lock horns with American superstar Sage Northcutt in a lightweight MMA contest.
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There have only been two fights confirmed for the card, but fans all over the world have now marked their calendars. The fans are not the only ones excited about the card, as other ONE Championship athletes are also hyped about it.
Newly crowned ONE atomweight submission grappling world champion Danielle Kelly even called her shot to become part of the card. She shared the official poster for the event and captioned the story with:
“I wanna compete in Japan so bad!!!!! @onechampionship”
If the promotion grants her request to join the event, it will be her first world title defense since beating rival Jessa Khan via unanimous decision in September 2023 at ONE Fight Night 14 to become the inaugural world titleholder of the division.
Danielle Kelly wants Itsuki Hirata as her next opponent
The pride of Philadelphia named Itsuki Hirata as her ideal opponent for her next match. Danielle Kelly revealed this during a question-and-answer session on Instagram recently with her followers. Kelly was asked who she would want to face between Xiong Jing Nan and Hirata, and she picked the latter.
“Both are fun matches I’d love to test myself again against a judo black belt," Kelly said. "I feel that my wrestling has gotten better. Itsuki would be ideal.”
Kelly intends to test her wrestling skills because she feels that they have significantly improved. If the 27-year-old American is keen to see action in Tokyo, then she might have the perfect opponent in mind.
