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Yuya Wakamatsu is currently on a three-fight winning streak in ONE Championship. 'Little Pirahna's hopes of a win in his next fight at ONE: Winter Warriors will be his ticket to contend for the flyweight championship, which is currently held by Adriano Moraes.
Wakamatsu is the third-ranked flyweight in ONE Championship right now and he is set to fight Yong Hu on December 3 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
The Japanese fighter was initially slated to go up against Adriano Moraes but requested ONE Championship to give him a match before the year ends instead. By putting himself back in the cage, Wakamatsu understands the risk of losing his ranking.
In an interview with ONE Championship, he said:
"I’ve only had one fight this year, and it’s my job to fight as a fighter. So if I’m arranged with someone from ONE, I just do it. I’ve only had one fight this year, and it’s my job to fight as a fighter. So if I’m arranged with someone from ONE, I just do it."
Heading to the match, Wakamatsu claims to have already done his homework and he doesn't intend to let his guard down by underestimating his opponent. He added:
"I won’t let him do anything to me. I won’t allow him to outstrike me, and that’s when his light will just turn off, and the fight will be over. I want to thoroughly dominate and beat him for three rounds."
Missed title shot against Adriano Moraes in ONE Championship
Yuya Wakamatsu is currently the No.3-ranked fighter behind Demetrious Johnson and Danny Kingad. With Johnson preparing for his mixed-rules fight with Rodtang Jitmuangon and Kingad taking on Kiamrat Ahmetov in ONE: Winter Warriors II, the Japanese fighter's number was supposed to be called to battle the reigning champion Adriano Moraes.
With the pandemic still at large, the fight faced a number of challenges and roadblocks. Nonetheless, Wakamatsu is glad to keep himself busy until his title shot comes. he said:
"It is what it is. It can’t be helped, and I think [the World Title match] will come sooner or later If I lose this time, I think it won’t happen. I think it’s the trend of the times, or maybe it’s fate that it wasn’t arranged yet. There’s nothing I can say about that. I just haven’t thought too much about it. At least I have a fight."
Wakamatsu has won four of his six fights in ONE Championship. He currently holds a professional record of 14-4 with 11 of those victories coming from knockouts.
