Yuya Wakamatsu welcomes anyone to challenge him for flyweight crown at ONE 173: "I will beat them up"

Yuya Wakamatsu has issued an open challenge to the entire division as he seeks to defend his prized possession at ONE 173 on Nov. 16.

'Little Piranha' embarked on a redemption mission the last time the world's largest martial arts organization dropped by "The Land of the Rising Sun" this past March.

He squared off against former kingpin Adriano Moraes for the vacant ONE flyweight MMA world championship inside the Saitama Super Arena in Japan, needing only 3:39 of the first round to exact revenge and climb atop the peak of the division.

Three months on, during the official ONE 173 press conference in Tokyo this past Tuesday, Yuya Wakamatsu declared his availability to put his gold on the line inside the Ariake Arena later this year.

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"I would say anyone," Wakamatsu declared when asked who he would like to face at the event. "I think this is my duty to prove to the world that the ONE flyweight division is the best in the world."

If his recent performances are anything to go by, the Tribe Tokyo MMA affiliate, who bagged a US$50,000 performance bonus for his finish of Moraes at ONE 172, is at the peak of his powers.

The 30-year-old Kagoshima native has steered past four of his past opponents—Moraes, Gilbert Nakatani, Danny Kingad, and Xie Wei—with relative ease on his way to a career-first world championship belt.

As the defending king, Wakamatsu understands there will be tougher roads ahead. He, however, promises to put on a show against whoever it may be when he's locked in to defend his 26 pounds of gold.

"This is an important thing [to defend my belt] that I want to prove. So, anybody who comes my way, I will beat them up," Yuya Wakamatsu concluded, sending an unmistakable message about the level of resistance any challenger can expect.

Watch the full presser here:

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Yuya Wakamatsu thinks Adriano Moraes underestimated his striking credentials heading into ONE 172

Yuya Wakamatsu believes Adriano Moraes made a mistake by underestimating his stand-up game, which eventually helped him wrap up their world title tiff early at ONE 172 in Saitama, Japan.

The Brazilian warrior vowed to knock Wakamatsu out in front of his fans. But it was the latter who produced a moment of magic to become only the second man to put 'Mikinho' to sleep.

"He's so good, and even if he said that my striking wouldn't affect him, I was ready to prove him wrong and put it all on the line," Yuya Wakamatsu shared during a previous interview with My Navi News.

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Edited by Tejas Rathi