"I'll be fighting hard" - Yuya Wakamatsu ready to rip if given the chance to defend his title at ONE 173

ONE flyweight MMA world champion Yuya Wakamatsu has maintained an aggressive and confident mentality throughout his career, and he promises to pack the same in his bag if given the chance to defend his gold at ONE 173 in Tokyo.

The Tribe Tokyo MMA standout, who captured 26 pounds of gold during the promotion's last visit there, demonstrated that recent success hasn't altered his approach to competition during the event's official press conference yesterday.

"For me, it doesn't change as much," Yuya Wakamatsu said when asked if his mindset had shifted since becoming a world champion. "For myself, I'll be fighting hard from the first round to knock [anyone] out."

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"And if I'm going to be in the event, I will definitely try to make it clear that it will be a fight that's very hard to win [for my opponent]," he declared, sending a clear message about the level of resistance any challenger can expect.

Wakamatsu stunned the martial arts world in his last outing at ONE 172 inside the sold-out Saitama Super Arena this past March.

The 30-year-old finished former longtime divisional king Adriano Moraes in the very first round of their five-round fight for the vacant ONE flyweight MMA world championship.

It gave 'Little Piranha' his fourth back-to-back win in the promotion after suffering successive losses to Adriano Moraes and Woo Sung Hoon in 2022.

Wakamatsu now awaits his first test as the divisional king. Though nothing seems confirmed, these three names remain a clear favorite to collide with the Japanese warrior in the near future.

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Yuya Wakamatsu details what led to quick finish of Adriano Moraes

After tasting defeat in his first world title attempt against the mighty Brazilian at ONE X in March 2022, Yuya Wakamatsu knew he had to work on a lot of things to turn his fortunes around if they crossed paths again.

While there were a lot of game-planning and moves to counter what 'Mikinho' brought to the table, the 30-year-old Kagoshima native said all of that came second only to his strike-first mindset.

“If you were to outbox your opponent, you always stand a better chance at victory," the flyweight MMA king shared during a separate interview with My Navi News.

Fight fans who missed his performance or who want to relive one of the most iconic nights in Japanese martial arts history can watch the entire ONE 172 event via replay at watch.onefc.com for free.

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Edited by C. Naik