Training out of K-Clann, Itsuki “Strong Heart Fighter” Hirata (平田樹), 20, of Japan has earned her third victory in ONE Championship. The undefeated Japanese mixed martial artist was one of the winners at “ONE: Warrior’s Code.”
Featuring three Muay Thai contests and eight MMA bouts, ONE Championship held “ONE: Warrior’s Code” at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta, Indonesia on February 7, 2020. In the sixth bout of the evening, Hirata competed in an MMA bout at a catch weight of 53.4kg against Nyrene “Neutron Bomb” Crowley, 30, of New Zealand.
It was the evening’s only bout between female fighters. Kemp Cheng served as the referee.
Following an action-packed opening round, Hirata showed off her grappling pedigree. She was able to take Crowley down at will and punish her with strikes while in dominant position.
In the final round, Hirata scored an early takedown which marked the beginning of the end for Crowley. Cheng put a stop to the catchweight bout after 3 minutes and 27 seconds of the third round when the Japanese fighter maneuvered to back mount and finished things off with heavy ground-and-pound.
Losing to Hirata downgraded the professional MMA record of Crowley to 3 wins and 3 losses. The Kiwi contender replaced Bi “Killer Bee” Nguyen, 30, of Vietnam and the United States, who was originally set to fight Hirata at “ONE: Warrior’s Code.”
Training out of Bali MMA in Bali, Indonesia, Crowley won two out of four ONE Warrior Series bouts from 2018 to 2019. She made her official ONE Championship debut at “ONE: Warrior’s Code.”
On the other hand, it marked Hirata’s third outing in ONE Championship. She now has 6 wins and 0 loss.
Including Japan and New Zealand, 15 countries were represented at “ONE: Warrior’s Code.” The others were Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, Cyprus, Indonesia, Italy, Moldova, the Netherlands, Russia, South Korea, Thailand, Timor Leste and the United Kingdom.
Crowley solely represented New Zealand. Hirata was one of the three representatives of Japan.
The first two ONE Championship opponents Hirata defeated were Angelie “The Explorer” Sabanal, 29, of the Philippines and Rika “Tiny Doll” Ishige, 30, of Thailand. Meanwhile, here is a “ONE: Warrior’s Code” recap:
CONAN Daily 