“To be stronger and become one of the best” - Yuya Wakamatsu says world title win at ONE 172 will help him scale to greater heights
Now that Yuya Wakamatsu has finally climbed to the top of the flyweight MMA mountain, he plans on building his legacy as one of the best world champions in ONE history.
'Little Piranha' shocked the world at ONE 172 inside the iconic Saitama Super Arena, TKO'ing former eight-time titleholder Adriano Moraes in the opening round to capture the ONE flyweight MMA world championship.
During a recent interview with My Navi News, Wakamatsu vowed to work even harder now that he's a world champion.
"I’m grateful for all the support," Wakamatsu said. "From here, I will continue to aim to be stronger and become one of the best world champions. So please support me. Thank you."
Wakamatsu has not pinpointed who will be his first flyweight title challenger, but he's more than willing to take on anyone the promotion puts in front of him.
"I’ll face anyone," he added. "If it’s someone who’s prepared, it doesn’t matter who the opponent is."
Yuya Wakamatsu admits to being 'mentally weak' following his sensational showing at ONE 172
Yuya Wakamatsu's victory at ONE 172 wasn't just against Adriano Moraes—a fighter who had beaten him once before. It was also, in a way, about beating himself.
"Looking back, I think it was really just a fight against my weak self," Wakamatsu wrote on Instagram following the victory.
"I really think that I was able to get this far thanks to the wonderful people around me who supported me, my family and friends who always believed in me and supported me. So, as I said in the interview, I just want to say thank you to everyone."
Before that, 'Little Piranha' admitted to being "mentally weak" during his post-fight interview with longtime ONE color commentator Mitch Chilson.
"In actuality, I’m a very weak person. I’m very mentally weak as well," he said in the ring. "But I want to show the people around the world who might be struggling with something that even somebody like me can have success like this."
Now sitting atop the flyweight MMA throne, who will be the first man to challenge the newly minted world champion?
If you missed any of the action, you can watch the full ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang replay on demand via watch.onefc.com.