Ayaka Miura Vs. Chihiro Sawada, More MMA Fights Added To ONE Samurai 1
ONE Championship has added three more explosive MMA matchups to the stacked ONE Samurai 1 card, which goes down live on Wednesday, April 29, from Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
The event will now feature submission machine Ayaka “Zombie” Miura facing Chihiro Sawada in an all-Japan atomweight MMA clash. Also, strawweight standouts Keito “Pocket Monk” Yamakita and Ryohei Kurosawa collide in another all-Japan showdown, and Japan’s Itsuki “Android 18” Hirata meets Ritu “The Indian Tigress” Phogat in another atomweight MMA battle.
The 35-year-old Miura will face the 28-year-old Sawada in a battle between two of the nation’s most dangerous grapplers.
Miura, who represents Tribe Tokyo MMA, brings a 16-5 career record with a 9-4 promotional mark into this crucial clash. The third-degree judo black belt has compiled eight submission victories in her nine wins in ONE.
After moving from strawweight to atomweight, Miura has found renewed success. She is now riding a five-fight winning streak that positioned her for a shot at the World Title. Last November at ONE 173, she was scheduled to challenge undisputed ONE Women’s Atomweight MMA World Champion Denice “The Menace” Zamboanga, but the champion withdrew due to health reasons and the fight was called off.
Now, the former ONE World Title challenger faces a dangerous test against Sawada, who brings an 11-1 career record with a 6-1 promotional mark.
The 28-year-old possesses a strong wrestling background and has built her reputation on taking opponents to the mat and demolishing them with relentless ground attacks and submissions.
Currently riding a three-fight winning streak, Sawada represents a legitimate threat to Miura’s championship aspirations. This all-Japan clash pits two elite grapplers against each other in a fight that promises high-level technical grappling and submissions galore.
In strawweight MMA action, Tokyo native Yamakita will face veteran Kurosawa in another explosive battle between Japanese stars.
The 29-year-old Yamakita brings an 11-1 career record with a 4-1 ONE slate into this showdown, having secured victories over former ONE Strawweight MMA World Champions Alex “Little Rock” Silva and Yosuke “The Ninja” Saruta.
Currently riding a three-fight winning streak, the wrestler utilizes a relentless pace to overwhelm opponents and will look to secure his fourth consecutive victory.
Standing across from him is the 32-year-old Kurosawa, who represents The Blackbelt Japan with a 20-5 career record with 11 finishes.
The well-rounded veteran won his promotional debut convincingly via unanimous decision in 2025 but suffered a decision loss against Bokang “Little Giant” Masunyane earlier this year.
This clash pits Yamakita’s momentum and wrestling-heavy pressure against Kurosawa’s veteran experience and well-rounded skill set, creating a fascinating stylistic matchup between two Japanese standouts.
Finally, Japanese fan-favorite Hirata will finally face “The Indian Tigress” in a rescheduled atomweight MMA clash that was originally set for ONE 173.
The 26-year-old “Android 18” brings seven career victories, including six wins in ONE with three finishes. The judoka possesses dangerous submission skills and heavy ground-and-pound that immediately made her a force when she debuted in the promotion in 2019.
Hirata’s momentum, however, has slowed since that initial run, managing only two victories in her last seven appearances. At ONE 173, Sawada replaced Phogat and handed Hirata a unanimous decision loss, creating urgency for the Japanese fighter to return to winning form.
The 31-year-old Phogat brings a 7-4 MMA record into this long-awaited matchup.
After achieving success in wrestling, she transitioned to MMA and won seven of her first eight fights, earning a place in the finals of the ONE Women’s Atomweight MMA World Grand Prix. There, she faced former three-sport ONE World Champion Stamp Fairtex, who defeated her in the final bout.
After losing to Tiffany “No Chill” Teo in September 2022, the Indian star got married later that year and started a family. Following the birth of her baby boy, she returned to action against Miura in 2025, dropping a first-round submission defeat. Now, she seeks to redeem herself and her march toward the ONE World Title.
