Itsuki Hirata

Itsuki Hirata
Born (1999-08-24) August 24, 1999 (age 25)
Adachi, Tokyo, Japan
Native name平田 樹
NicknameAndroid 18[1]
Height157 cm (5 ft 2 in)[1]
Weight52 kg (115 lb; 8 st 3 lb)[1]
DivisionAtomweight
Reach159 cm (63 in)
StyleJudo
Teacher(s)Kazunori Yokota
RankBlue belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu[2]
Years active2018–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total10
Wins6
By knockout2
By submission2
By decision2
Losses4
By submission1
By decision3
Amateur record
Total4
Wins4
By submission4
Losses0
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
Last updated on: February 2, 2024 (2024-02-02)

Itsuki Hirata (Japanese: 平田 樹, Hepburn: Hirata Itsuki, born August 24, 1999) is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist. She is currently signed to ONE Championship, where she competes in the atomweight division. Hirata trained in judo throughout childhood before switching to mixed martial arts (MMA) upon graduating high school. After winning the third season of the Japanese reality television series and MMA competition Fighting Agent War in 2018, Hirata earned a contract with ONE and made her professional debut in 2019.

Early life and amateur career

[edit]

Following in the footsteps of her older brother Naoki, Itsuki Hirata started practicing judo at the Kodokan Judo Institute in first grade of elementary school at six years of age.[3] With dreams of competing in the Olympics, she took third place in a national competition in fifth grade, and later won a prefectural judo championship in high school.[1][3][4] Hirata had several surgeries throughout middle school and high school due to injuries she sustained in judo.[3][5] She said she stopped thinking about the Olympics due to the amount of time these injuries sidelined her.[5] It was during this time that Hirata started watching and became interested in mixed martial arts (MMA), which she thought looked fun and much freer than the "strict" rule-based judo.[5] After graduating, she began training in MMA in summer 2018 under Kazunori Yokota at K-Clann gym in Tokyo.[3][4]

Hirata won her first fight by submitting Momoka Yoshiwara at the amateur tournament held during Deep Jewels 21 on September 16, 2018.[6] Hirata then competed in the third season of the AbemaTV reality TV show and MMA competition Fighting Agent War (格闘代理戦争, Kakutō Dairi Sensō), where she was coached by Hayato Sakurai and won all three of her bouts by submission.[4] She defeated Yoshihiro Akiyama's fighter Bo Hyun Park in the first round of competition, and Rumina Sato's fighter Mio Tsumura in the second.[3] Hirata defeated Shinya Aoki's fighter Mizuki Furuse in the finals on December 29, 2018, via Americana submission in the first round to earn 3 million yen and a professional contract with ONE Championship.[7]

Formerly known by the nicknames "Otomeza no Koroshiya" (乙女座の殺し屋, "The Virgo Assassin") and "Strong Heart Fighter",[7][8][9] Hirata officially changed her nickname to "Android 18" in 2021 due to often being told she looks like the character of the same name from the manga series Dragon Ball.[10]

Professional career

[edit]

Hirata won her professional debut at ONE Championship: Legendary Quest on June 15, 2019, by submitting Angelie Sabanal with an Americana in the first round.[11] At ONE Championship: Century on October 13, 2019, Hirata submitted Rika Ishige with an armbar at 4:41 of round two.[12] Hirata was scheduled to face Bi Nguyen at ONE Championship: Warrior's Code on February 7, 2020, but Nguyen pulled out of the fight due to an injury and Nyrene Crowley stepped in on short notice.[13] After Hirata failed to make the atomweight upper limit of 52 kg, the fight was contested at a catchweight of 53.4 kg.[14] Hirata found herself in a third round for the first time against Crowley, and won the fight via TKO stoppage at 3:27 of the final round.[8]

Hirata faced Miku Nakamura in the main event of ONE Championship: Road to ONE - Young Guns on February 22, 2021. She earned another TKO stoppage, defeating Nakamura at 2:34 of round 2.[15] She was then announced as one of eight women taking part in ONE's Atomweight Grand Prix, with the winner earning a shot at the championship.[16] In her first bout to go the distance, Hirata defeated Alyse Anderson by unanimous decision at ONE Championship: Empower on September 3, 2021.[17] She was then scheduled to face Ritu Phogat in the grand prix's semifinals at ONE Championship: NextGen on October 29, 2021. However, Hirata pulled out of the grand prix four days before the fight due to a high fever.[18]

Hirata then suffered her first loss at ONE: X on March 26, 2022, losing to Jihin Radzuan by split decision. Hirata questioned the judging, suggesting Radzuan should have won by unanimous decision instead.[19] In May 2022, Hirata and her brother were some of the first fighters to take part in AbemaTV's Kaigai Musha Shugyō Project (海外武者修行プロジェクト), a program documenting young Japanese mixed martial artists that are given the opportunity to train at top-level MMA gyms in North America.[20] Hirata faced Lin Heqin at ONE on Prime Video 1 on August 27, 2022.[21] After Hirata missed weight and failed the hydration test, the match was contested at a catchweight of 54.0 kg and she forfeited 50% of her fight purse to Lin.[22][23] Hirata won the bout by unanimous decision.[24] She later stated that she missed weight because she accepted the fight on short notice.[25] Hirata was scheduled to face Seo Hee Ham at ONE 163 on November 19, 2022, with the winner expected to receive a shot at the atomweight championship.[26] However, Hirata missed weight and failed the hydration test, and the match was scrapped after Ham declined a catchweight bout due to Hirata's history of missing weight.[27]

In January 2023, AbemaTV aired a program on Hirata that stated she flew to Japan in November 2022 after abnormalities were detected in her kidneys and liver during a medical checkup for the Ham fight.[28] Although no abnormalities were detected in Japan, the doctor told her to take a break due to a hormone imbalance and to see if the weight cut had any further adverse affects.[28] Hirata revealed that she had kidney disease in childhood, and that abnormalities were also detected in October 2021 before the ONE Atomweight Grand Prix semifinals.[28][29] The match against Seo Hee Ham was rescheduled for March 25, 2023, at ONE Fight Night 8.[30] Hirata lost the fight via unanimous decision.[31] In April 2023, the South China Morning Post ranked Hirata at number nine on their ONE Championship women's pound-for-pound rankings.[32]

Hirata faced fellow Japanese fighter Ayaka Miura on January 28, 2024, at ONE 165. She lost the fight by unanimous decision.[33] Her next match was against Victória Souza at ONE 167 on June 8.[34] She lost the fight via technical submission with a guillotine choke at 1:31 of the first round.[35]

Personal life

[edit]

Hirata's parents both support her martial arts career.[36] Her father, who was strict with her judo in childhood, continued to drive her to and from MMA practice and thought of meals for cutting weight.[3][4] Her older brother Naoki is a mixed martial artist with Deep.[37] Hirata started training in MMA in summer 2018 under Kazunori Yokota at K-Clann gym in Tokyo.[3][4] She left K-Clann in December 2020 and joined Krazy Bee, a Tokyo gym founded by Norifumi Yamamoto.[38][39] Hirata has dated Yamamoto's nephew, Rizin Fighting Federation mixed martial artist Erson Yamamoto.[40] Hirata then trained at New York-based Serra-Longo Fight Team from mid-2022 to 2023.[41][42] She has also trained with Shinya Aoki, whom she has called the greatest Japanese mixed martial artist and cited as a role model for being oneself without worrying about the cameras.[36][39][43] In 2022, Hirata became the first Japanese fighter to be sponsored by Monster Energy.[44]

Championships and accomplishments

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Mixed martial arts record

[edit]
Professional record breakdown
10 matches 6 wins 4 losses
By knockout 2 0
By submission 2 1
By decision 2 3
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 6–4 Victória Souza Technical Submission (guillotine choke) ONE 167 June 8, 2024 1 1:31 Bangkok, Thailand
Loss 6–3 Ayaka Miura Decision (unanimous) ONE 165 January 28, 2024 3 5:00 Tokyo, Japan
Loss 6–2 Ham Seo-hee Decision (unanimous) ONE Fight Night 8 March 25, 2023 3 5:00 Kallang, Singapore
Win 6–1 Lin Heqin Decision (unanimous) ONE on Prime Video 1 August 27, 2022 3 5:00 Kallang, Singapore Catchweight (119.25 lb) bout; Hirata missed weight.
Loss 5–1 Jihin Radzuan Decision (split) ONE: X March 26, 2022 3 5:00 Kallang, Singapore
Win 5–0 Alyse Anderson Decision (unanimous) ONE: Empower September 3, 2021 3 5:00 Kallang, Singapore ONE Women's Atomweight World Grand Prix Quarterfinal.
Win 4–0 Miku Nakamura TKO (punches) Road to ONE: Young Guns February 22, 2021 2 2:34 Tokyo, Japan
Win 3–0 Nyrene Crowley TKO (punches) ONE: Warrior's Code February 7, 2020 3 3:27 Jakarta, Indonesia Catchweight (115.7 lb) bout; Hirata missed weight.
Win 2–0 Rika Ishige Submission (armbar) ONE: Century – Part 1 October 13, 2019 2 4:41 Tokyo, Japan
Win 1–0 Angelie Sabanal Submission (americana) ONE: Legendary Quest June 15, 2019 1 2:59 Shanghai, China Strawweight debut.

Source:[45]

Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 3–0 Mizuki Furuse Submission (americana) Fighting Agent War 3rd Season December 29, 2018 1 2:54 Japan Final round.
Win 2–0 Mio Tsumura Submission (rear-naked choke) Fighting Agent War 3rd Season December 1, 2018 1 2:36 Japan Semi-Final round.
Win 1–0 Bo Hyun Park Submission (armbar) Fighting Agent War 3rd Season October 27, 2018 2 3:18 Japan Quarter-Final round.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d "Itsuki "Android 18" Hirata". ONE FC. May 23, 2019. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  2. ^ @_itsuki_h_ (March 5, 2024). やったああああああ‼︎青帯になりました‼︎早川先生をはじめ、トライフォース池袋の皆様いつもありがとうございます‼︎これから柔術の試合にチャレンジするぞー！ (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved March 7, 2024 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "【ONE】『格闘代理戦争』から6.15 ONEデビュー、平田樹「今まで日本の女子格にいなかったような選手になりたい」" (in Japanese). Gong Kakutogi. June 8, 2019. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Itsuki Hirata Did Not Let Adversity End Her Martial Arts Dream". ONE FC. September 30, 2019. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c "Itsuki Hirata's 'Strong Heart' Got Her Through The Hardest Times". ONE FC. February 3, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  6. ^ 吉川桃加 VS 平田樹 (MOMOKA YOSHIKAWA VS ITSUKI HIRATA) (web video). Deep. January 28, 2019. Retrieved April 7, 2022 – via YouTube.
  7. ^ a b "ストーリーは終わらない！「格闘代理戦争」19歳の新鋭がONEとの契約を勝ち取る" (in Japanese). Abema. December 31, 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  8. ^ a b "ONE Championship 108 results: Reinier de Ridder claims title shot after bloody war". MMA Junkie. February 7, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  9. ^ "Alyse Anderson backs Johnson, Alvarez at ONE on TNT". BJPenn.com. April 5, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  10. ^ "Itsuki Hirata discusses her transition to Dragon Ball's Android 18". Asian MMA. September 1, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  11. ^ "Bouts to make after ONE: Legendary Quest". BJPenn.com. June 21, 2019. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  12. ^ "ONE: Century – Part 1 live results and highlights". BJPenn.com. October 12, 2019. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  13. ^ "Bi Nguyen Out, Nyrene Crowley Steps In To Face Itsuki Hirata". ONE FC. January 23, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  14. ^ "【ONE】平田樹が尿比重で計量パスできず、試合はキャッチウェイトで実地。松嶋こよみは当日パス＝2月7日（金）ジャカルタ" (in Japanese). Gong Kakutogi. February 7, 2020. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  15. ^ "Itsuki Hirata finishes Miku Nakamura in the second stanza at Road to ONE 7". AsianMMA. February 24, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  16. ^ "ONE Championship reveals atomweight grand prix field, with winner to challenge champ Angela Lee". MMA Junkie. February 24, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  17. ^ "ONE Championship: Itsuki Hirata shakes off knockdown to light up atomweight grand prix". South China Morning Post. September 3, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  18. ^ "Itsuki Hirata Explains Reason Behind Withdrawal From ONE: NEXTGEN". ONE FC. October 26, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  19. ^ "Itsuki Hirata questions ONE Championship judging". AsianMMA. March 28, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  20. ^ "【ABEMA】世界と伍するために──ABEMA「格闘チャンネル」が「ON THE ROAD MANAGEMANT」と連携し、異例の支援＝第1期生として、平田直樹＆平田樹、三上ヘンリー大智、オーディンが海外格闘技留学へ" (in Japanese). Gong Kakutogi. May 16, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  21. ^ ""I can't wait to showcase my skills" - Itsuki Hirata eager to make an impact in America with Prime Video". Sportskeeda. August 11, 2022. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
  22. ^ "ONE ON PRIME VIDEO 1: MORAES VS. JOHNSON II". ONE FC. May 8, 2022. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  23. ^ "Adriano Moraes vs. Demetrious Johnson 2 official after Moraes passes hydration test". MMA Fighting. August 26, 2022. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  24. ^ "ONE on Prime Video: Itsuki Hirata Gets Back in Win Column with Two Near-Finishes of Lin Heqin". Cageside Press. August 26, 2022. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
  25. ^ "Itsuki Hirata feels she is approaching her prime". Asian MMA. November 16, 2022. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  26. ^ "Itsuki Hirata faces Seo Hee Ham at ONE 163". Asian MMA. October 17, 2022. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
  27. ^ Atkin, Nicolas (November 18, 2022). "ONE Championship 163: Ham Seo-hee cancels fight with 'irresponsible' Itsuki Hirata – 'I hope she feels embarrassed'". South China Morning Post. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  28. ^ a b c "【ONE】平田樹、計量失敗の悪夢乗り越え再始動！ 抱える疾患も告白" (in Japanese). eFight. January 27, 2023. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  29. ^ "Itsuki Hirata explains why she missed weight". AsianMMA. January 27, 2023. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  30. ^ Jay Furness (February 8, 2023). "Ham Seo Hee vs. Itsuki Hirata rebooked for ONE Fight Night 8 on March 24". ONE Championship – The Home of Martial Arts. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  31. ^ "ONE Championship: Ham Seo-hee blames Itsuki Hirata for dull fight – 'one person's effort is not enough'". South China Morning Post. March 31, 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  32. ^ "ONE Championship rankings: women's pound for pound MMA, April 2023". South China Morning Post. April 5, 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  33. ^ "【ONE】平田樹が悔しい敗戦、三浦彩佳の"寝技漬け"に何もできず＝試合結果" (in Japanese). eFight. January 28, 2024. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  34. ^ "【ONE】平田樹の連敗脱出なるか、ビクトリア・ソウザと再起戦が決定＝6月8日タイ「ONE 167」" (in Japanese). Gong Kakutogi. April 17, 2024. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  35. ^ "【ONE】【ONE】平田樹、まさかの失神一本負け！ソウザのギロチンチョークで秒殺" (in Japanese). efight.jp. June 8, 2024. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  36. ^ a b "The evolution of Itsuki Hirata: From reality TV to atomweight contender". Mixedmartialarts.com. August 30, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  37. ^ "【ONE】平田兄妹が勝負の一戦へ──メインを戦う兄・直樹「極め切りたい」、妹・樹はハム・ソヒ参戦報道に「どんだけ強いのか体感してみたい」" (in Japanese). Gong Kakutogi. December 17, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  38. ^ @_itsuki_h_ (December 18, 2020). ジムを辞めて、フリーになったんだ。 (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved April 10, 2022 – via Twitter.
  39. ^ a b "5 Reasons Why Itsuki Hirata Is The Next Big Thing At Atomweight". ONE FC. March 21, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  40. ^ "Itsuki Hirata relaxing at the beach with boyfriend Erson Yamamoto". Asian MMA. August 27, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  41. ^ "Itsuki Hirata Discusses Preparations For Lin Heqin". Combat Press. August 15, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  42. ^ ""I drive myself and be limitless too" - Itsuki Hirata gets boost after training in New York". Sportskeeda. November 11, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  43. ^ "Itsuki Hirata inspired by Shinya Aoki ahead of Grand Prix spot". BJPenn.com. March 26, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  44. ^ "【ONE】日本人ファイター初！ 平田樹がモンスターエナジーとスポンサーシップ契約を締結「復帰戦をお楽しみに」" (in Japanese). Gong Kakutogi. February 15, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  45. ^ "Itsuki Hirata | MMA Fighter Page". Tapology. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
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