Japanese kickboxing superstar Yuki Yoza is an outlier in the striking world. Blessed with powerful fists and punishing kicks, the 28-year-old has taken the promotion by storm with his 3-0 start.
As impressive as his wins over Elbrus Osmanov, Petchtanong Petchfergus, and Superlek were, it’s his unusual habit that has made him truly unique.
For one, Yoza does not use hand wraps when he fights.
The Team Vasileus star has been so used to it that he admits it doesn’t even hurt him at this point.
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
Yoza shared in a recent interview with ONE Championship:
“Actually, I can’t even wrap them myself. I don’t even know how to wrap hand bandages, even in training. I mostly just hit the mitts. I don’t do any specific training to strengthen my wrists or my knuckles.”
Simply put, Yuki Yoza is built differently. The former K-1 lightweight champion is a prodigy in every sense, as evidenced by his rapid rise in one of the promotion’s most stacked divisions.
The Kyokushin Karate practitioner will bring that unpredictable style and bare fists at ONE Samurai 1 on April 29, challenging Jonathan ‘The General’ Haggerty for the ONE bantamweight kickboxing world title at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
Yuki Yoza says Kyokushin Karate has hardened his fists
Yuki Yoza still carries his karate background even after transitioning to kickboxing.
Apart from incorporating karate techniques into his deadly arsenal, the Team Vasileus star even kept the practice of not using hand wraps.
For Yoza, fighting without wraps feels like total freedom.
“Not just my hands, but after fights, I usually don’t have any injuries. My fists are probably fine because I trained in Kyokushin Karate, where we fight bare-knuckled. So it’s not a problem for me,” the Japanese star told ONE.
Follow Sportskeeda MMA and ONE Championship for all the latest updates on ONE Samurai 1.
Edited by Aziel Karthak
