Tokyo Dreams Fell For Jihin Radzuan As Itsuki Hirata Leveled Their Rivalry
Jihin “Shadow Cat” Radzuan arrived in Tokyo assuming nobody would recognize her. By the time she left, strangers had queued at her hotel for photographs, some clutching printed pictures of the Malaysian.
That warmth came on a difficult night. The 28-year-old dropped a unanimous decision to Itsuki “Android 18” Hirata in their women’s atomweight MMA rematch at ONE SAMURAI 4 on Saturday, October 17, as the Japanese judoka leaned on improved grappling to reverse their 2022 meeting.
Back at ONE X in March of that year, Jihin had handed Hirata the first defeat of her professional career with a split decision. This time, Hirata’s takedowns and control proved decisive, though the Malaysian’s punches and kicks landed whenever the fight stayed upright.
For the Johor Bahru native, a former Malaysian National Wushu Champion, her first competitive trip to Japan still delivered something special. The reaction began in the hotel lobby and followed her all the way out of the cage.
“I love the crowd. I love getting back to fighting on the big stage, doing the [opening] ceremony, and fighting in the cage. The feeling is so awesome as an MMA fighter. Fighting in Japan, everyone thought nobody knew me. Actually, people stopped me at the hotel to take pictures, asking me for autographs. They even had printed photos of me,” Jihin said.
“When I got out of the cage, people were rooting for me. They were saying, ‘You did a good job,’ and ‘Do your best next time.’ So far, nothing bad.”
Those words of encouragement have done nothing to dull her competitive streak. Jihin knows the grappling exchanges cost her, and she plans to address them before stepping back into the Circle.
With the pair now locked at one win apiece, a deciding chapter feels almost inevitable. Jihin is not usually one for repeat matchups, but she is happy to make an exception for this rivalry.
“Of course, now it’s one-one. Why not? As a fighter, I don’t really like to fight the same opponent every single time, but let’s do it. Let’s do the trilogy,” she said.
READ MORE: Floyd Mayweather Claims Conor McGregor Stole His Swag After $300 Million Fight
Recent posts
