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Former K-1 champion Yuki Yoza is set to make his ONE Championship debut on May 23.
Fighting out of Team Vasileus in Sagamihara, Japan, Yoza has established himself as one of kickboxing's premier athletes. Now, he'll have the chance to showcase his skills on martial arts' biggest global stage when he makes his first promotional appearance at ONE Friday Fight 109.
Emanating from the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, the former K-1 lightweight titleholder is set to square off with undefeated Russian prospect Elbrus Osmanov.
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Sitting on a 10-fight win streak, Yoza is considered to be one of Japan's most exciting scrappers in eight-ounce gloves, earning big wins over the likes of Taio Asahisa and Petchdam Petchyindee.
He'll face a tough test in his promotional debut when he meets Osmanov, a 23-year-old standout boasting a perfect 12-0 record, with half of those victories coming under the ONE Championship banner.
Osmanov's last appearance came in December when he scored a unanimous decision victory over Nathan Bendon at ONE Friday Fights 92. A year earlier, he made waves with a first-round knockout of Paesanlek in his inaugural ONE appearance.
Yuki Yoza is coming for ONE Championship gold
Yuki Yoza is certainly no stranger to collecting gold.
To this day, he remains the youngest IKO Kyokushin Karate world champion in history, capturing the title when he was just 19 years old.
Before long, he made his way to K-1, where he captured the promotion's lightweight crown in 2023.
Now, he's coming for 26 pounds of ONE Championship gold, and it all starts at ONE Friday Fights 109.
"I have signed a contract with ONE Championship," Yoza wrote on Instagram. "I will defeat all the world's best fighters and definitely take the ONE belt! Fans, look forward to it."
ONE Championship fans can watch ONE Friday Fights 109 via the promotion's official YouTube channel, watch.onefc.com, and on the ONE Super App.
