"I didn't want to get hit" - Japanese star Itsuki Hirata's tough realization after rough skid 

Itsuki Hirata is hoping that she has turned a corner in her career and will showcase a new version of herself at ONE 167.

The Japanese standout had clear potential from the moment that she arrived in ONE Championship.

As a result, at just 24 years old, ONE fans have watched Hirata grow up right in front of their eyes and that was always going to come with adversity and bumps in the road for her to deal with.

Heading into ONE 167, the atomweight contender is without a win in her last two appearances where she has been defeated by Ham Seo Hee and Ayaka Miura.

Hirata spoke in an interview with ONE Championship about a major change that she had to make in her approach after coming to a sudden realization:

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"Before, I didn't even want to get hit. I didn't want to lose or fail in training. But after losing, I realized that training is a place to fail."

Hirata added that she was only able to put herself on the right path once she admitted this and made serious adjustments:

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"I fail a lot. I get beaten by female fighters and amateur fighters too. Before, I was being stubborn, but I changed my mindset, and it became easier."

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Itsuki Hirata looks to bounce back in style at ONE 167

If you're looking for a young fighter to bounce back from adversity, all you can ask is what Itsuki Hirata has gone away and done.

She went back to the drawing board and took a look at what she was doing wrong, why she was doing it and how it could be fixed.

Now, Hirata looks to put it into practice when she returns on June 7 to take on Brazil's Victoria Souza in a fight that could be crucial for her career.

Expect to see the next evolution of 'Android 18' at the Impact Arena.

ONE 167 will air live at US prime time on June 7 and is free to watch for North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription.

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