The ONE World Title Challenger Who Refuses To Wear Hand Wraps While Fighting
After Yuki Yoza won his ONE promotional debut in May 2025, he walked back to his corner, pulled off his gloves, and revealed something that stopped the stadium. He had fought without hand wraps.
The moment spread quickly. In a sport where protecting the hands is considered essential, the choice looked eccentric at best. Yoza laughed it off in the post-fight interview, calling himself “crazy.” But the decision was not a stunt. It was the product of years of training, a specific mechanical problem, and an honest answer to it.
Now the 28-year-old former K-1 Champion prepares to challenge Jonathan “The General” Haggerty for the ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Title at ONE Samurai 1 on Wednesday, April 29, at Ariake Arena in Tokyo — and he still will not be wrapping his hands.
The reasoning is precise. Yoza does not use wraps in training either, and when he tried fighting with them, something fundamental broke down in the quality of his striking.
“When I throw a body shot, in training this part of my wrist moves freely, so I can turn it over and land the punch cleanly with the knuckles,” he said. “But when it’s wrapped all the way here, the wrist gets locked. Then sometimes this part hits instead. The same goes for hooks. I can’t land them effectively.”
The experiment began in the final stretch of his K-1 career. Somewhere around his fight with Kongnapa Weerasakreck, he asked for permission to try competing without wraps. It felt immediately right. He has not changed it since.
“On a whim, I asked for permission to try fighting without them,” he said. “And it felt incredibly natural. Since then, I’ve believed it’s better not to use them.”
The results have backed the method. Since joining ONE, Yoza has beaten Elbrus Osmanov, former ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Champion Petchtanong Petchfergus, and reigning ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Champion Superlek, extending his winning streak to 13 fights. He has scored knockdowns without wraps. He has emerged from fights without hand injuries.
The durability is rooted in his background. Years of Kyokushin Karate, which is competed bare-knuckle, conditioned his hands long before the wraps question ever arose. He does not do specific wrist or knuckle strengthening work. He simply does not need to.
“I can’t even wrap them myself,” he said. “I don’t even know how to wrap hand bandages. After fights I usually don’t have any injuries. My fists are probably fine because I trained in Kyokushin Karate.”
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