Yosuke Saruta, Andy Hata (©ONE Championship)

Shooto Strawweight Champion Yosuke “The Ninja” Saruta, 32, of Saitama, Japan and Pancrase Strawweight Champion Daichi Kitakata, 28, of Osaka, Japan battled it out at “ONE: Century 世紀” in Tokyo, Japan on October 12, 2019. It was the former who emerged as the victor.

“ONE: Century 世紀” was the second ONE Championship event held in Japan and it marked the martial arts organization’s 100th live event. The combat sports event had two parts with 11 bouts each.

Featuring mixed martial arts, Muay Thai and kickboxing matches, “ONE: Century 世紀” took place at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on October 12, 2019. Saruta and Kitakata competed in an MMA bout in the strawweight division in the fourth bout of the second part.

Yoshinori Umeki served as the referee. Saruta was dominant from the opening bell, controlling Kitakata in the grappling department.

In the second round, Saruta made his way into Kitakata’s guard and from there landed a massive knockout punch to get the highlight-reel finish. Umeki put a stop to the strawweight contest after 59 seconds in the second round when the Shooto champ knocked out the Pancrase champ.

It was ONE Championship Japan president Andy Hata who presented the award to Saruta. The latter is also a former ONE Strawweight World Champion.

Training out of Wajutsu Keishukai Hearts, Saruta now holds a professional MMA record of 34 wins, 16 losses, 3 draws and 1 No Contest. On the other hand, Kitakata, who represents Pancase Inakagumi, now has 31 wins and 7 losses.

Including Japan, 18 countries were represented in the two parts of “ONE: Century 世紀.” The others were Algeria, Belarus, Brazil, China, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and the United States.

Saruta and Kitakata were among the 12 fighters who represented Japan. Watch the highlights of “ONE: Century 世紀” part 2 here: