{"id":606520,"date":"2026-04-15T21:06:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T21:06:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/606520\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T21:06:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T21:06:11","slug":"avazbek-kholmirzaev-targets-yuya-wakamatsus-flyweight-throne-at-one-samurai-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/606520\/","title":{"rendered":"Avazbek Kholmirzaev targets Yuya Wakamatsu’s flyweight throne at ONE SAMURAI 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Avazbek \u201cNinzya\u201d Kholmirzaev<\/a> has served notice to the ONE flyweight MMA division. The 25-year-old Uzbek challenger will meet reigning ONE Flyweight MMA World Champion Yuya \u201cLittle Piranha\u201d Wakamatsu in one of four title bouts at ONE SAMURAI 1<\/a>, broadcasting live from Ariake Arena in Tokyo on April 29.<\/p>\n

Kholmirzaev\u2019s ascent through the flyweight ranks has been relentless. Since arriving in ONE, he has racked up nine victories inside the promotion \u2014 eight of them by stoppage \u2014 and enters this fight riding a six-fight winning streak.<\/p>\n

Back-to-back finishes of Willie van Rooyen and Jeremy Miado, combined with a decision over Tatsumitsu Wada, demonstrated his ability to get the job done in any area of the fight.<\/p>\n

The magnitude of the moment is not lost on him, but neither has it rattled his composure.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything happened quite fast. But there is a lot of hard work behind it. I\u2019m grateful and I just keep working. It means a lot to me. It\u2019s a great opportunity and I\u2019m happy to compete on such a stage,\u201d Kholmirzaev said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Avazbek Kholmirzaev ready to take his place among the greats<\/p>\n

Dethroning Yuya Wakamatsu on Japanese soil will demand a near-perfect performance. The champion brings elite grappling credentials, ironclad takedown defense, and a puncher\u2019s power that can end any fight in an instant. Avazbek Kholmirzaev has studied the blueprint and built a game plan around it.<\/p>\n

He has no intention of adjusting his identity to accommodate the challenge. His answer is to impose his own game \u2014 from the opening bell, across all three rounds if necessary \u2014 and trust that his preparation covers every scenario Wakamatsu presents.<\/p>\n

\u201cWakamatsu is a very good fighter, strong and experienced. Strong opponents push you to grow and become better. But inside the ring there is no friendship. I am coming to win,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has improved a lot in grappling. I will just try to show my own game. My game plan is to control the fight, stay focused, and use my skills in all areas \u2014 striking, wrestling, and grappling. I am ready for every situation.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Avazbek \u201cNinzya\u201d Kholmirzaev has served notice to the ONE flyweight MMA division. The 25-year-old Uzbek challenger will meet…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":606521,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[444],"tags":[228950,49,48,641,638,1865,203447,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-606520","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mma","8":"tag-avazbek-kholmirzaev","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-fighting","12":"tag-mma","13":"tag-one-championship","14":"tag-one-samurai-1","15":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=606520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606520\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/606521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=606520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=606520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=606520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}