Yuya Wakamatsu can finally call himself a ONE champ.
The 13-fight ONE veteran scored a title in his home country of Japan on Sunday night, capturing the promotion’s vacant 135-pound MMA title with a first-round finish win over former titleholder Adriano Moraes.
A finish came early for Wakamatsu due to his aggressive style on the feet. Chasing down Moraes with lightning-fast punches, he kept the Brazilian on his backfoot for minutes. Then, a little over halfway into the first round, a flurry of shots—including a clean right uppercut—dropped Moraes to the mat. Wakamatsu immediately followed him to the canvas with ground and pound strikes, continuing until the referee stepped in.
The win earned Wakamatsu easily his biggest victory since first joining the ONE roster in 2018.
“I want to show the people around the world who might be struggling with something that even somebody like me can have a success as great as this,” Wakamatsu said in his post-fight interview, through an interpreter.
Wakamatsu was given the title opportunity after previous champ Demetrious Johnson announced his retirement last year, vacating the title.
The 30-year-old former King of Pancrase was challenging for a ONE title for the second time this weekend. He previously lost in a 2022 meeting to Moraes, getting caught in the third round of a title bout with a guillotine choke. Not only did the result this weekend make good on his title wishes, but also avenged one of the few losses he has taken in the promotion.
Wakamatsu came into this weekend following a trio of ONE wins, including a first-round finish win over Xie Wei and a scorecard nod against experienced ONE talent Danny Kingad.
Moraes, a talent who has fought at the championship level of ONE since 2014, was looking to break a record in his appearance this weekend. A win would’ve kicked off his fourth title reign, giving him more championship stints in the promotion than any other fighter (he’s currently tied with 125-pound fighter Joshua Pacio, as both have attained three title reigns in their divisions).
The 35-year-old, who saw his last time on top of the division come to an end in 2022 with a loss to Johnson, was entering with the momentum of a late-2024 win over Kingad.
Bout 13: Rodtang Jitmuangnon def. Takeru Segawa via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:20) (Kickboxing)
Bout 12: Masaaki Noiri def. Tawanchai P.K.Saenchaimuaythaigym via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 1:55) (Vacant Interim ONE Kickboxing Featherweight Championship) (155 lbs)
Bout 11: Yuya Wakamatsu def. Adriano Moraes via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:39) (Vacant ONE MMA Flyweight Championship) (135 lbs)
Bout 10: Jon Di Bella def. Sam-A Gaiyanghadao via Decision, Unanimous (Vacant Interim ONE Kickboxing Strawweight Championship) (125 lbs)
Bout 9: Phetjeeja Lukjaoporongtom def. Kana Morimoto via Decision, Unanimous (ONE Kickboxing Atomweight Championship) (115 lbs)
Bout 8: Nabil Anane def. Superlek Kiatmoo9 via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 7: Nadaka Yoshinari def. Rak Erawan via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 2:40) (Muay Thai)
Bout 6: Shinya Aoki def. Eduard Folayang via Submission, Armbar (RD 1, 0:53)
Bout 5: Hiroki Akimoto def. John Lineker via Decision, Split (Kickboxing)
Bout 4: Adrian Lee def. Takeharu Ogawa via Submission, Anaconda Choke (RD 1, 1:03)
Bout 3: Shimon Yoshinari def. Yodlekpet Or Atchariya via Decision, Unanimous (Muay Thai)
Bout 2: Hyu def. Zakaria El Jamari via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:12) (Kickboxing)
Bout 1: Ryusei Kumagai def. Suriyanlek Por Yenying via Decision, Unanimous (Kickboxing)
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