Yuki Yoza ONE Friday Fights 109: "Yuki is a real deal" - Fans expect Yuki Yoza to go on a rampage after his stellar ONE Championship debut in Bangkok

ONE Championship fans can identify when a promotional newcomer has what it takes to become a future star in the organization, and Japanese standout Yuki Yoza is the latest athlete to receive such high praise.

The former K-1 lightweight king officially signed with ONE last month and made his much-anticipated debut at ONE Friday Fights 109 this past Friday, May 23. The Team Vasileus product thoroughly outclassed Russian star Elbrus Osmanov to take home the unanimous decision victory and snap his six-fight winning streak.

Watch Yuki Yoza get his hand raised in his promotional debut below, which ONE posted on Instagram:

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In the comments section, fans eagerly pointed out why the 27-year-old has what it takes to dominate the ONE bantamweight kickboxing division, writing:

"Yuki is a real deal lol, where's the haters now😂"

"Yuki with rolling thunder 🔥"

"Destroyed em just with calf and body kicks 💀"

"Too easy 🔥🔥🔥"

"Yoza is fighting like he is two seconds ahead of his opponent. Unreal movement at certain times plus countering attacks even before the opponent is at 50% of his technique. I definitely want to see more fights from him!"

"Wheres the Haters??"

"The beast has arrived. 🔥"

Screenshot of comments. [ONE Championship/Instagram]

Yuki Yoza predicts becoming bantamweight kickboxing king by next year

Even before he stepped inside the circle for the first time, Yuki Yoza was confident enough in his abilities to declare that he will unceremoniously dethrone ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Jonathan Haggerty within a year's time.

He told the South China Morning Post in an interview ahead of ONE Friday Fights 109:

"Within a year, I will take the belt from Haggerty. That's the goal. He's strong and very good at adjusting, but I want to show I am better."

About the author

Karl has been an MMA writer at Sportskeeda since 2023. He holds a Bachelor of Arts major in history, which helps him pay attention to the finer details while writing, and also has first-hand experience in boxing. He has a total experience of 5 years, and has worked for the International Business Times.

Karl turned into an MMA fan back in 2011 after watching Tito Ortiz defeat Ryan Bader via first-round submission at UFC 132. He has interviewed ONE world champions like Eduard Folayang, Joshua Pacio, Stamp Fairtex, and Tawanchai in his career so far.

On the non-MMA side of things, he interviewed WWE superstar Matt Riddle in 2021 and his question about Roman Reigns elicited an interesting answer which was widely covered by outlets like Sportskeeda and Cultaholic Wrestling's YouTube channel. He has also interviewed NBA stars Dwight Howard, Nick Young, Andre Roberson, Shabazz Muhammad, Jason Williams and Brian Scalabrine plus Filipino women's volleyball star Alyssa Valdez.

Karl ensures to double-check facts before using them in articles, and reads up on potential topics for pieces a day before. In his off time, he likes to play video games, and keep up with basketball and pro wrestling.

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Edited by Tejas Rathi