It has been three weeks since Japanese kickboxing star Yuki Yoza fell short in his push for a world title. But he admits that he is still in the process of coming to grips with it.
The Team Vasileus standout challenged for the ONE bantamweight kickboxing world title against reigning divisional king Jonathan Haggerty at ONE SAMURAI 1 on April 29 at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. They had a spirited back-and-forth throughout the five-rounder but in the end it was ‘The General’ who was declared still king by unanimous decision.
Recently, Yuki Yoza spoke about the tough loss he absorbed in an Instagram post. He lamented missing out on the opportunity to realize his goal of becoming world champion while fighting on the same card as his mentor, friend and recently retired fighter, Takeru Segawa, but was grateful still for the support he has been getting as he picks up the pieces and moves on.
His post read:
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“The belt was right in front of me. The first commemorative ONE SAMURAI event. A terrestrial broadcast made possible thanks to Takeru-san. The last fight where we could win together. I absolutely had to win here. But instead, I suffered my first loss in five years.”
Yoza went on to share:
“Everything I had built over the years felt like it collapsed in an instant. And I can’t stop thinking about how disappointing it is that I lost at a moment like this. I still haven’t fully accepted the reality of it. But during this time, the people close to me supported me, and I received thousands of messages from fans cheering me on. That truly saved me.”
Yuki Yoza put up a gallant stand against Jonathan Haggerty
While the win did not come his way at ONE SAMURAI 1, Yuki Yoza still made a good account of himself against Jonathan Haggerty.
Embroiled in a highly tactical showdown against the British superstar, Yoza held his own, inflicting damage with his vaunted leg kicks. And while for the most part the champion successfully fended off his attacks, the hometown bet made sure that he did not go down without a fight and made Haggerty work all the way to the end.
The loss halted Yuki Yoza’s three-fight winning streak in ONE Championship. He is now looking to regroup and come back better.
The full replay of ONE SAMURAI 1 can be purchased on live.onefc.com.
Edited by Aziel Karthak
