Yuya Wakamatsu (©ONE Championship)

Yuya Wakamatsu (若松佑弥), 25, of Tokyo, Japan has earned his third ONE Championship win. The Japanese mixed martial artist is now riding a three-bout winning streak.

Training at Tribe Tokyo MMA in Nerima, Tokyo, Wakamatsu fought Kim Kyu Sung (김규성), 28, of Jeonju, South Korea at “ONE: Inside the Matrix II.” ONE Championship held the MMA event at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore on November 6, 2020.

Wakamatsu is 168cm tall. Kim stands 179cm and trains at Evolve MMA in Singapore.

Including Japan and South Korea, nine countries were represented at “ONE: Inside the Matrix II,” which featured five MMA fights. The others were China, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Russia and the United States.

In the third bout of the evening, Kim and Wakamatsu competed in the flyweight division. Justin Brown served as the referee.

Wakamatsu came out of the gates with fiery combinations, stalking Kim aggressively across the cage. The South Korean athlete from Evolve MMA tried to use his reach advantage to stave off his Japanese opponent’s attacks.

However, Wakamatsu was intent on ending the night early. Towards the end of the first round, he timed a well-placed right hand as his opponent was coming in, shutting off Kim’s lights before he hit the ground.

Brown put a stop to the flyweight contest after 1 minute and 46 seconds in the first round. Wakamatsu knocked out Kim with a single punch.

Beating Kim at “ONE: Inside the Matrix II” improved the professional MMA record of Wakamatsu to 13 wins and 4 losses. On the other hand, the South Korean MMA fighter now has 10 wins and 4 losses.

Kim solely represented South Korea at “ONE: Inside the Matrix II.” Wakamatsu was the sole representative of Japan.

Born in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima, Japan on February 9, 1995, Wakamatsu is a protégé of retired professional MMA fighter Ryo “Piranha” Chonan, 44, of Japan. The latter is the owner of Tribe Tokyo MMA.

From Kagoshima, Wakamatsu moved to Tokyo after graduating from high school. He made his professional MMA debut in 2015 and competed in Vale Tudo Japan, Zst and Pancrase before joining ONE Championship in 2018.

“ONE: Inside the Matrix II” marked Wakamatsu’s fifth ONE Championship fight. The first two opponents he defeated in the promotion were Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio, 31, of the Philippines and Dae Hwan “Ottogi” Kim, 33, of South Korea.