Itsuki Hirata advances in ONE Atomweight Grand Prix with win over Alyse Anderson

03 September 2021

Itsuki Hirata and Alyse Anderson locked horns today in the Quarter-Final of the ONE Atomweight Grand Prix in ONE: Empower.

Hirata started off on a cautious note when Alyse was testing waters with her combinations in the first round. Alyse managed to get things to a clinch soon but ended up giving Hirata the top position at the end of the exchange. The Japanese MMA star had some success with ground and pound shortly after when Alyse was trying to sneak in a submission from the bottom position.

Hirata was on the front foot at the start of the second round as well and landed a takedown in the second minute which gave her a long spell of top control. Against the flow of things, Alyse Anderson landed a huge punch on Hirata in the third round but the Japanese fighter managed to recover soon and landed a quick takedown. Alyse gained confidence from the fact that she rocked Hirata and pushed to turned the fight in her favor but was met with stiff resistance from Hirata. The Japanese youngster then managed to sail through comfortably for a decision win and advanced into the semi-finals of the ONE Atomweight Grand Prix. 

Hirata, who had an undefeated record of 4-0 heading into the fight with Alyse Anderson, had made her ONE Championship debut back in 2019 when she fought Angelie Sabanal. She then secured wins over Rika Ishige, Nyrene Crowley, and Miku Nakamura to build up her record to 4-0 before her clash with Alyse at ONE: Empower.

Anderson, meanwhile, came into the fight on the back of a professional MMA record of 5-1. Her last win came against Katie Saull back in 2019 and the American was riding high on a two-fight winning streak as well prior to the fight with Hirata. Anderson made her MMA debut back in 2013 and turned professional two years later in 2015.

ONE: Empower, the all-women fight card from ONE: Championship was held in Singapore and was headlined by the ONE Strawweight World Title fight between Xiong Jing Nan and Michelle Nicolini. The card also featured the quarter-final matchups for the ONE Atomweight Grand Prix, the winner of which will receive a shot against ONE Atomweight Champion Angela Lee.

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