Itsuki Hirata, Kemp Cheng, Angelie Sabanal (© ONE Championship)
Itsuki “Strong Heart Fighter” Hirata, 18, of Tokyo, Japan was one of the winners at “ONE: Legendary Quest.” It was the Japanese mixed martial artist’s first victory in ONE Championship.
Featuring three Muay Thai matches, two kickboxing contests and nine MMA bouts, “ONE: Legendary Quest” took place at the Baoshan Arena in Shanghai, China on June 15, 2019. In the second bout of the evening, Hirata faced Angelie Sabanal, 29, of Cagayan de Oro, Philippines in an MMA match in the women’s atomweight division with Kemp Cheng as the referee.
Cheng put a stop to the atomweight contest after 2 minutes and 59 seconds in the first round. Hirata submitted Sabanal via Americana.
Winning at “ONE: Legendary Quest” improved the professional MMA record of Hirata to 4 wins and 0 loss. On the other hand, Sabanal now has 1 win and 2 losses.
Hirata was one of the three athletes who represented Japan at “ONE: Legendary Quest” while Sabanal was one of the three representatives of the Philippines. Australia, Brazil, China, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, Morocco, Myanmar, the Netherlands, Scotland, South Korea, Thailand and the United Kingdom were also represented.
On June 12, 2019, Hirata and Sabanal had their official face-off during the press conference at Yunspace in Shanghai. The event was graced by ONE Championship Greater China chairman Hua Fung Teh and reigning ONE Women’s Strawweight World Champion “The Panda” Xiong Jing Nan, 31, of China.
Training out of K-Clann in Katsushika-ku, Tokyo, Hirata made her ONE Championship debut at “ONE: Legendary Quest.” It was her fourth bout as a professional MMA fighter.
Born on August 24, 1999 in Tokyo, Hirata made her professional MMA debut in 2018. She won three consecutive bouts at “Fighting Agent War” Season 3.
Meanwhile, watch the “ONE: Legendary Quest” recap here:
