ONE Championship Debutant Ryujin Nasukawa Admits The Nerves Have Not Hit Him Yet
No amount of preparation can fully simulate the weight of stepping onto a stage for the first time. Ryujin Nasukawa is about to find that out himself.
The 20-year-old Japanese phenom debuts against Thai slugger Thongpoon PK Saenchai in a strawweight kickboxing bout at The Inner Circle 23 this Friday, July 24. The card is available exclusively to subscribers, streaming from Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium.
Confidence has defined nearly everything Nasukawa has said leading up to this moment, but even the most self-assured fighters admit there is a human side to a debut this significant. The younger brother of retired, undefeated Japanese kickboxing great Tenshin Nasukawa knows the unknown awaits him regardless of pedigree.
“It still hasn’t really hit me yet. I honestly won’t know whether I’ll be nervous or not until fight day actually comes,” Nasukawa said.
That uncertainty has not stopped him from doing his homework. Nasukawa has broken down Thongpoon’s aggressive, forward-charging style in detail, and he has arrived at a clear read on what awaits him inside the ring.
“He comes forward relentlessly and doesn’t seem to care about taking punches to get in close,” Nasukawa said.
This is far from Nasukawa’s first taste of life inside the world’s largest martial arts organization, even if it marks his first appearance as a competitor. He sat in the corner for fellow countrymen Sora Tanazawa and Kazuteru Yamazaki at ONE Friday Fights 158 and The Inner Circle 18 this past June, witnessing firsthand how electric the atmosphere can be at Lumpinee Stadium.
Now he gets to experience that same energy himself, stepping into the spotlight rather than watching from the corner.
“Everyone was so fired up. It didn’t matter which fighter won or lost, the crowd was electric during the show last month,” Nasukawa said.
“It really made me realize what an intense stage this is.”
A statement debut would only be the beginning of what Nasukawa hopes to accomplish here. The 20-year-old has spent his career chasing gold across multiple promotions, having already claimed an ISKA World Title and become a two-division RISE Champion.
Rather than treat Friday’s strawweight assignment as a ceiling, he sees it as just a starting point.
“I really want to win, leave a strong impact, and show that I have what it takes to chase World Titles in both the strawweight and atomweight divisions,” Nasukawa said.
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