Overview
- The ONE flyweight title bout is booked for Wednesday, April 29, at Ariake Arena in Tokyo as part of the ONE SAMURAI 1 event.
- Reigning champion Yuya Wakamatsu enters on five straight wins and most recently stopped Joshua Pacio by second-round TKO at ONE 173 in November.
- Challenger Avazbek Kholmirzaev, 25, has nine wins in ONE with eight finishes and rides a six-fight streak that includes stoppages of Willie van Rooyen and Jeremy Miado.
- Wakamatsu called Kholmirzaev the strongest foe of his career and predicted a ground TKO, while Kholmirzaev said he is coming to win and will impose his striking, wrestling, and grappling.
- ONE frames the Japan card as a celebration of Bushido, with this fight one of four world title bouts and Wakamatsu embracing the role of representing Japanese MMA at home.