“He is the hardest hitter” - Chatri Sityodtong calls Yuya Wakamatsu the Mike Tyson of ONE Championship

There are a ton of exciting matchups at ONE X, but Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong can’t wait to see Adriano Moraes and Yuya Wakamatsu battle it out for the ONE flyweight world title.

Sityodtong believes Moraes may have his hands full against arguably the hardest puncher in the promotion in Wakamatsu. The head honcho of the world’s largest martial arts organization even compared 'Little Piranaha’s' power to none other than legendary boxer Mike Tyson.

In a recent interview with Sportskeeda MMA’s Andrew Whitelaw, Chatri Sityodtong said:

“He [Wakamatsu] is the hardest hitter. I mean, if you look at his technique, it’s a little unorthodox in that he generates so much power because he has this leaping style. So you feel like you’re at a safe distance with him, but the way he throws his punch, he actually leaps forward. It’s almost like a Mike Tyson, when he would do that leaping left hook.”

Chatri Sityodtong continued his praise of Wakamatsu’s unbridled punching power:

“A very traditional striker would plant his feet and just fire off from a good base. Yuya Wakamatsu, he throws from way out of left field and he’s flying in the air and he’s throwing that punch. He is the hardest puncher, pound-for-pound, in ONE. He has true one-punch knockout power.”

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Chatri Sityodtong won’t count out Adriano Moraes

If there’s one thing Sityodtong is wise to do, it’s to not count Adriano Moraes out in any fight. The multi-time ONE flyweight world champion has powered himself through adversity on various occasions to come away with a victory.

In his most recent outing, Moraes toppled MMA GOAT Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson, becoming the only man to stop the American in the cage with a shocking second-round knockout.

Chatri Sityodtong said:

“Adriano [Moraes], he’s very long, he’s very tricky. He has incredible fight IQ. And he’s very tall for a flyweight. That’s going to give Yuya a lot of problems. Of course, if Yuya is overly aggressive, he’s going to get taken down. He’s going to miss with those flying punches, and then run into a double and get taken down by Adriano.”

That being said, Sityodtong just can’t pick a clear winner and, like everyone else, would prefer to just wait to watch the fight and find out.

“You know, this is a fifty-fifty fight. It’s one of those fights where I can envision Adriano winning by submission, but I can also envision Yuya winning by one-punch KO.”