"We grew together" - ONE debutant Gilbert Nakatani shares how MMA coach turned his life around

ONE Championship's newest acquisition Gilbert Nakatani remembered fondly how he went from being a troublemaker for a large chunk of his post-high school years to eventually committing to the life of an MMA fighter.

In an exclusive interview with ONE, Nakatani recounted how meeting Josh Aragon, his MMA coach and head coach of the Aragon Training Academy, convinced him to change his life for the better:

"I actually gravitated when one of my friends was like, 'You need to meet my coach, and I think you guys would hit it off.' And that's where I met my coach now, Josh Aragon. He believed in me, and we grew together."

The 31-year-old continued:

"It grew to what it is today, not knowing I was really going to become a professional and one of the best in the world. I believed I could do it, but to really see it come to life, it's unbelievable. It's so exciting, and it's just growing. I just feel like we're just getting better, and I'm still learning. I'm still getting better. The sky's the limit."

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Gilbert Nakatani's ONE Championship debut set for Dec. 6

The legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, will host ONE Fight Night 26 on Dec. 6, where Gilbert Nakatani will look to showcase his knockout power and stellar wrestling abilities.

His opponent will be second-ranked ONE flyweight MMA competitor Yuya Wakamatsu, who has been competing under the ONE banner since September 2018.

'Little Piranha' has collected seven wins in six years. In his most recent outing this past January, fans witnessed Wakamatsu avenge his promotional debut defeat to Filipino flyweight MMA mainstay Danny Kingad via unanimous decision.

ONE Fight Night 26 will air live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.