ONE SAMURAI 3 MMA Results: Wakamatsu Sends A Message, Minowa And Ito Shine In Yokohama
For the first time in its history, ONE Championship touched down in Yokohama, Japan, for ONE SAMURAI 3 on Saturday, September 12, and the MMA portion of the card delivered its own share of drama across three showdowns.
A former ONE World Champion authored a statement performance, while two grappling specialists tapped into their phenomenal pedigrees to secure memorable victories.
Here’s everything that went down in all of the MMA action at ONE SAMURAI 3 from Yokohama Buntai.
Wakamatsu Shuts Down Van Rooyen, Rebuilds His Path To Gold
Yuya “Little Piranha” Wakamatsu entered this flyweight MMA co-main event battle with his back against the wall, and he punched a hole clean through it, stopping Willie “White Lion” van Rooyen via TKO in the second round.
The former ONE Flyweight MMA World Champion stalked Van Rooyen behind a persistent left jab before closing the distance in the clinch, using his frame to shut down every takedown attempt.
Once he broke free, Wakamatsu unloaded his hands, reminding the South African who he was dealing with. Van Rooyen found pockets of success from range, but up close, it was all one-way traffic from the 31-year-old Japanese knockout artist. He carried that same plan into round two – and this time, it paid off.
“Little Piranha” mixed jabs, straights, and the occasional uppercut to keep “White Lion” trapped. Still, Van Rooyen chipped away with leg kicks but could never follow up with anything meaningful. Wakamatsu, meanwhile, kept finding a home for his hands, and with less than a minute left in the round, a straight right buckled the 22-year-old. And then, a follow-up left hook twisted the South African’s torso on impact, sending his mouthpiece flying clean across the ring.
Though both men continued trading with heavy shots, the referee stepped in to retrieve Van Rooyen’s gum shield and have the ringside doctor examine his jaw. Something did not look right, and with fighter safety paramount, the bout was waved off at the 4:34 mark of round two.
The win – his 15th highlight-reel triumph – pushed Wakamatsu’s record to 21-7 and gave him a strong case to run it back with reigning divisional king Avazbek “Ninzya” Kholmirzaev, the man who dethroned him at ONE SAMURAI 1.
Minowa Grinds Out Miyazawa In Grappling Clinic
Hiroba Minowa‘s world-class grappling was the difference in his strawweight MMA duel with reigning Strawweight King of Pancrase Yuta Miyazawa, powering him to a dominant unanimous decision for a second straight ONE Championship victory.
Minowa, a former Shooto Strawweight Champion, started cautiously. However, it was Miyazawa who drew first blood, catching his Japanese compatriot with a pair of sharp punches after slipping free from an early clinch battle along the ropes.
It didn’t take long for the tide to turn, though.
Minowa found his footing on the mat in the second frame. The 28-year-old secured a takedown, and once he got a taste of top position, he simply refused to let it go. Like a dog with a bone, he hunted for the rear-naked choke round after round, dragging the 32-year-old promotional newcomer to the canvas whenever he tried to create space and smothering any attempt to build offense off his back.
Miyazawa showed real toughness, as he weathered the continuous grappling assault. He even found moments to land his jab and set up his right hand when the action returned to the feet.
But in the end, he could not solve the puzzle Minowa presented on the ground, and all three judges saw it the same way, awarding the unanimous decision in favor of the STF affiliate, who moved his career record to 16-6.
Ito Taps Kurobe With A Slick Rear-Naked Choke
In the night’s first MMA contest, former Flyweight King of Pancrase Seiichiro Ito erased the sting of his ONE Championship debut loss, as he submitted promotional newcomer Kazusa Kurobe via rear-naked choke in their strawweight battle.
Ito, a second-degree judo black belt from Reversal Gym Yokohama Groundslam, got things going with snappy punch-kick combinations, but Kurobe answered by pulling him into the clinch. The 32-year-old Yokohama native, however, weathered the exchange well and secured the takedown.
From there, Ito extended his opponent’s right arm in search of the tap. Kurobe protected his limb well, but with under a minute remaining in the opening stanza, the Yokohama resident adjusted his angle for a cleaner armbar extension. It seemed like the 24-year-old was in serious trouble, but he scrambled free and survived the frame.
The second round picked up with the Tribe Tokyo MMA representative driving Ito against the ropes early. Unfortunately, that surge did not last long. Ito reversed the position, took his foe down, and immediately hunted for the back. Kurobe’s attempts to wriggle free only made matters worse, ultimately giving his fellow Japanese star the opening he needed to sink in the fight-ending rear-naked choke at 2:14 of round two.
That highlight-reel finish pushed Ito’s professional record to 19-5, marking the 13th submission victory of his career.
