'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wCEAAMDAwMDAwQEBAQFBQUFBQcHBgYHBwsICQgJCAsRCwwLCwwLEQ8SDw4PEg8bFRMTFRsfGhkaHyYiIiYwLTA+PlQBAwMDAwMDBAQEBAUFBQUFBwcGBgcHCwgJCAkICxELDAsLDAsRDxIPDg8SDxsVExMVGx8aGRofJiIiJjAtMD4+VP/AABEIAAYACgMBIgACEQEDEQH/xABeAAEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABwgQAAICAgIDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEDAgQABQZBBxITAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADEQACAgIDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgADBBIRFFH/2gAMAwEAAhEDEQA/AMpUuP6hdDX2nBs3aO4aaJRisBkD83LLYmJEjGTMlVvyDutfafUWqmIV2zVEBXUD6jvGMfOpq7uUmo1ruZVHgBiB2SmkgkFk5M//2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
At ONE Fight Night 8, Itsuki Hirata has got a huge fight on her hands. Despite that, she is already starting to make plans for the future.
On March 24, the rising Japanese contender will take on No.2-ranked atomweight Ham Seo Hee in the biggest fight of her career to date. With a win guaranteeing either competitor a shot at Angela Lee’s atomweight world championship, Hirata knows the importance of picking up a win this weekend by any means necessary.
Ahead of a huge night in her career, ‘Android 18’ is already thinking about the next four or five steps that she wants to take in her career.
In a recent interview with ONE Championship, she spoke about the possibility of moving up a weight class in the near future to challenge strawweight champion Xiong Jing Nan:
“Although there may be more fighters in the atomweight division, the value of the strawweight championship belt will not decrease. I really respect Xiong Jing Nan as the champion, and I thought it would be good to aim for that.”
Itsuki Hirata added:
“The value of the belt is not affected. Xiong Jing Nan was stronger than Angela Lee, so I think the value of the belt remains high.”
Itsuki Hirata regrets not making weight for first fight with Ham Seo Hee
At ONE Fight Night 8 on March 24, Itsuki Hirata is hoping to put some bad memories behind her when she faces Ham Seo Hee in a huge fight for the atomweight division.
The high-ranked contenders were originally scheduled to face-off in November at ONE 163. However, the fight fell off the card at late notice due to Hirata failing to make weight and pass her hydration test.
Her opponent refused to take the fight at a catchweight limit, giving the reason that she knew Hirata had struggled with weight several times in the past.
As their rescheduled contest approaches, Japan’s Itsuki Hirata has been reflecting on her weight miss from late last year. In an interview with ONE Championship, she spoke about still holding regrets for her mistakes:
"If you ask me what happened, I think it's the same thing that everyone knows. Not being able to have the fight that everyone was looking forward to was the most regrettable thing. As for Ham Seo Hee declining to accept a catchweight fight, I didn't particularly have any thoughts about it."
The matchup has such huge stakes for the division that it simply had to be ran straight back on another date. At ONE Fight Night 8 on March 24, live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium, they will finally meet inside the circle.
North American viewers can watch the entire event live and for free via Prime Video.
