Itsuki Hirata

Following in the footsteps of her older brother Naoki, Itsuki Hirata started practicing judo at the Kodokan Judo Institute in first grade of elementary school at six years of age.[2] With dreams of competing in the Olympics, she took third place in a national competition in fifth grade, and later won a prefectural judo championship in high school.[1][2][3] Hirata had several surgeries throughout middle school and high school due to injuries she sustained in judo.[2][4] She said she stopped thinking about the Olympics due to the amount of time these injuries sidelined her.[4] It was during this time that Hirata started watching and became interested in mixed martial arts (MMA), which she thought looked fun and much freer than the "strict" rule-based judo.[4] After graduating, she began training in MMA in summer 2018 under Kazunori Yokota at K-Clann gym in Tokyo.[2][3]

Hirata won her first fight by submitting Momoka Yoshiwara at the amateur tournament held during Deep Jewels 21 on September 16, 2018.[5] Hirata then competed in the third season of the AbemaTV reality TV show and MMA competition Fighting Agent War (格闘代理戦争), where she was coached by Hayato Sakurai and won all three of her bouts by submission.[3] She defeated Yoshihiro Akiyama's fighter Bo Hyun Park in the first round of competition, and Rumina Sato's fighter Mio Tsumura in the second.[2] Hirata defeated Shinya Aoki's fighter Mizuki Furuse in the finals on December 29, 2018, via Americana submission in the first round to earn 3 million yen and a professional contract with ONE Championship.[6]

Formerly known by the nicknames "Otomeza no Koroshiya" (乙女座の殺し屋, "The Virgo Assassin") and "Strong Heart Fighter",[6][7][8] Hirata officially changed her nickname to "Android 18" in 2021 due to often being told she looks like the strong female character of the same name from the manga series Dragon Ball.[9]

Hirata won her professional debut at ONE Championship: Legendary Quest on June 15, 2019, by submitting Angelie Sabanal with an Americana in the first round.[10] At ONE Championship: Century on October 13, 2019, Hirata submitted Rika Ishige with an armbar at 4:41 of round two.[11] Hirata was scheduled to face Bi Nguyen at ONE Championship: Warrior's Code on February 7, 2020, but Nguyen pulled out of the fight due to an injury and Nyrene Crowley stepped in on short notice.[12] After Hirata failed to make the atomweight upper limit of 52 kg, the fight was contested at a catchweight of 53.4 kg.[13] Hirata found herself in a third round for the first time against Crowley, and won the fight via TKO stoppage at 3:27 of the final round.[7]

Hirata faced Miku Nakamura in the main event of ONE Championship: Road to ONE - Young Guns on February 22, 2021. She earned another TKO stoppage, defeating Nakamura at 2:34 of round 2.[14] She was then announced as one of eight women taking part in ONE's Atomweight Grand Prix, with the winner earning a shot at the championship.[15] In her first bout to go the distance, Hirata defeated Alyse Anderson by unanimous decision at ONE Championship: Empower on September 3, 2021.[16] She was then scheduled to face Ritu Phogat in the grand prix's semifinals at ONE Championship: NextGen on October 29, 2021. However, Hirata pulled out of the grand prix four days before the fight due to a high fever.[17]

Hirata then suffered her first loss at ONE X on March 26, 2022, losing to Jihin Radzuan by split decision. Hirata questioned the judging, suggesting Radzuan should have won by unanimous decision instead.[18]

Hirata's parents both support her martial arts career.[19] Her father, who was strict with her judo in childhood, continued to drive her to and from MMA practice and thought of meals for cutting weight.[2][3] Her older brother Naoki is a mixed martial artist with Deep.[20] Hirata started training in MMA in summer 2018 under Kazunori Yokota at K-Clann gym in Tokyo.[2][3] She left K-Clann in December 2020 and currently trains at Krazy Bee, a Tokyo gym founded by Norifumi Yamamoto.[21][22] Hirata has dated Yamamoto's nephew, Rizin Fighting Federation mixed martial artist Erson Yamamoto.[23] She has also trained with Shinya Aoki, whom she has called the greatest Japanese mixed martial artist and cited as a role model for being oneself without worrying about the cameras.[19][22][24] In 2022, Hirata became the first Japanese fighter to be sponsored by Monster Energy.[25]

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