‘I Thought About Quitting’ — How Rukiya Anpo Overcame Dark Times Before His Lightweight Debut At ONE SAMURAI 4
It takes immense courage to conquer the world’s most dangerous strikers, but confronting one’s own shortcomings demands a different kind of bravery. After hitting rock bottom following a grueling physical and mental ordeal, Rukiya “Demolition Man” Anpo is ready to speak his truth.
The Japanese striking star channels that newfound vulnerability into his crucial return in a new weight class at ONE SAMURAI 4 on Saturday, October 17, at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena. He faces dangerous Bulgarian striker Bogdan Shumarov in lightweight kickboxing in one of the most anticipated cards of the year.
Anpo has spent the months since peeling back the layers of a performance he never wanted the world to see. He walked into his promotional debut against former ONE World Title challenger Marat Grigorian at ONE 173 carrying real bravado and the menacing swagger that had made him a household name across Japan.
That confidence collided hard with reality before the opening round even started. Anpo could not meet the demands of the scale despite drastic last-minute measures. The fight pushed through regardless, but all the hard work he had put in counted for little once he stepped into the ring physically compromised.
Anpo fought valiantly but was outclassed across three rounds in front of his own home crowd. Aside from the embarrassment that lingered, something else weighed on him far more heavily.
The Himeji City native said:
“What I feel most is that I couldn’t put out my best performance. That is the one thing I really regret.
“Everything I had built up over a long time with my coaches, I could barely show any of it in the actual match. That is the biggest thing.”
Anpo has always lived by an unbending personal code, once maintaining that missing weight was the ultimate betrayal of professional standards. Falling short of his own metric sent him into genuine psychological distress. In the aftermath, he withdrew from training completely, spending months wrestling with self-doubt.
At his absolute lowest point, Japan’s proud knockout artist considered walking away from the sport for good.
The former K-1 Champion said:
“After that match, since I missed weight, I thought about quitting fighting altogether. I had been saying for a while that anyone who misses weight isn’t a real pro.
“There was a good stretch where I stepped away from fighting entirely. I didn’t train at all for about half a year. During that time, my mental state wasn’t great. I felt like I wasn’t being a pro back then.”
Time slowly allowed those deep mental scars to heal, granting Anpo the quiet space needed to reshape his perspective. Crippling guilt yielded to disciplined, purposeful work, and a genuine sense of peace now radiates from the 30-year-old as he embarks on a fresh chapter.
In a poignant twist of fate, the craft he once sought to abandon became his greatest salvation.
Anpo said:
“I did a lot of different things, and now I am in a pretty solid place mentally. I can head into this fight in really good shape.”
Size Has Never Been An Issue For Rukiya Anpo
Leaving the agonizing constraints of his past behind has freed Rukiya Anpo’s body to operate at full athletic capacity. Moving up to lightweight represents a different animal though, especially with Bogdan Shumarov waiting on the other side.
Confident in his technical supremacy, Anpo still acknowledges the uncertainty this bold career transition inevitably brings. However, there’s a sense of comfort that stems from a proven history of holding his own against more imposing adversaries.
He said:
“I don’t know if [the weight class] suits me or not. There is nothing in between. As for me personally, fighting bigger guys is not scary.
“In the past I fought Cyril Abidi, Tsuyoshi Sudario in Rizin, and Sina Karimian, the former K-1 Cruiserweight Champion. I don’t have any fear about fighting bigger guys.”
A superficial fear of an opponent’s raw power has never existed within Anpo’s psyche. What terrifies him runs deeper — falling short of his own potential in front of the people who matter most.
He has already lived that exact nightmare, confronted it head-on, and emerged a sharper fighter and a better man.
Anpo concluded:
“If anything, what I am actually afraid of is stepping into the ring unable to put out my best performance.
“Being in less-than-best shape and fighting in front of the fans like that is the thing that is really hard for me. Moving up a weight class doesn’t scare me at all.”
