Japanese kickboxing star fires shot at Jonathan Haggerty

Japanese kickboxing ace Yuki Yoza’s debut in ONE Championship is still a week away, but he has his sights set sky-high.

The former K-1 Champion faces unblemished Russian hitter Elbrus Osmanov on May 23 at ONE Friday Fights 109 in a bantamweight kickboxing bout inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium. And he’s confident it’s the start of a road that leads to ONE bantamweight kickboxing king Jonathan Haggerty.

Yoza has come up against many World Champions in his time. He’s even outclassed a former ONE flyweight Muay Thai kingpin in Petchdam Petchyindee.

On top of that, he trains alongside the likes of interim featherweight kickboxing champ Masaaki Noiri and iconic Takeru Segawa. So the 27-year-old believes it’s only a matter of time until he dethrones the British bruiser.

“Within a year, I will take the belt from Haggerty. That’s the goal,” he said.

“He’s strong and very good at adjusting, but I want to show I am better.”

Yuki Yoza relishing ONE Championship debut at ONE Friday Fights 109

Japanese star Yuki Yoza has competed at the highest levels around the combat sports world. But the only place he feels he’s ever wanted to be is in ONE Championship.

The promotion is home to many of the world’s greatest athletes across MMA, Muay Thai, kickboxing, and more recently, submission grappling.

As a former K-1 Champion with a multitude of highlight-reel knockouts to his name, the 27-year-old believes his arrival in ONE has been a long time coming.

Now his debut is just one week away at ONE Friday Fights 109. And the heavy hitter is ready to seize the moment and kickstart his new chapter emphatically.

“I’ve always dreamed of this moment,” he said, “and now that I’ve finally got my dream, I just grabbed the opportunity.”