ONE Championship has bolstered the MMA slate for ONE Samurai 1, which takes place on Wednesday, April 29, at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
The most consequential addition is an atomweight clash between Ayaka "Zombie" Miura and Chihiro Sawada — two of Japan's most dangerous grapplers on a collision course.
Miura, a third-degree judo black belt representing Tribe Tokyo MMA, carries a 16-5 record and a five-fight winning streak into the bout. Eight of her nine ONE victories have come by submission. She was positioned for a world title shot at ONE 173 last November before champion Denice Zamboanga withdrew due to illness.
Sawada at 28 years old holds an 11-1 record and brings her own three-fight winning streak into the matchup, built on relentless wrestling and ground control. Both women have title ambitions, and the outcome here will go a long way toward determining who gets to pursue them.
At strawweight, Keito "Pocket Monk" Yamakita faces Ryohei Kurosawa in another all-Japan clash. Yamakita enters on a three-fight winning streak with an 11-1 career record, having already beaten former ONE strawweight title-holders Alex Silva and Yosuke Saruta. The 29-year-old wrestler applies pressure from the opening bell and rarely lets opponents settle.
Kurosawa, 32, is the more experienced man at 20-5 overall with 11 finishes, but he arrives having lost his most recent outing to Bokang Masunyane. His first promotional appearance ended in a decision win, but he'll need to reassert himself against a fighter moving in the opposite direction.
The third addition is a long-anticipated atomweight rematch of sorts. Itsuki "Android 18" Hirata against India's Ritu "The Indian Tigress" Phogat. The fight was originally booked for ONE 173 before Phogat withdrew and Sawada stepped in, handing Hirata a unanimous decision loss.
The 26-year-old Hirata has won six of her ONE appearances but has managed only two victories across her last seven outings, making this a must-win situation.
Phogat, 31, returns after a first-round submission defeat to Miura in 2025. It was her second loss in her last three fights. She reached the final of the ONE Women's Atomweight Grand Prix and her wrestling pedigree remains formidable, but she needs a statement performance to rebuild momentum in a division that has moved on without her.
