Keito Yamakita

Japanese mixed martial arts star Keito Yamakita was born in the coastal prefecture of Mie in the city of Inabe. There, he developed a love for wrestling. Yamakita soon started competing in Pancrase, where he went on to become the organization’s strawweight champion.

On February 22, 2021, however, he hit a career high when he competed in Road to ONE: Young Guns in Japan. On that night, he beat his opponent by second-round knockout via knee. He then joined ONE Championship the following year with an unblemished 7-0 record in MMA.

Yamakita is now aiming to to use his freestyle wrestling and newfound Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills to propel him to the top of ONE’s loaded strawweight mixed martial arts division. And by the looks of his track record, he has all the tools to make that feat happen.