Yuya Wakamatsu

Yuya Wakamatsu (若松佑弥 Wakamatsu Yūya, born February 9, 1995) is a Japanese martial artist from Satsumasendai City, Japan. His nickname "Little Piranha" came from his coach and mentor, Ryo "Piranha" Chonan.[3] He has competed for promotions such as Pancrase, ZST, Vale Tudo Japan, and currently ONE Championship.

Yuya Wakamatsu
Born若松佑弥
(1995-02-09) February 9, 1995
Satsumasendai, Kagoshima, Japan
Other namesLittle Piranha
ResidenceTokyo, Japan
NationalityJapanese
Height5 ft 6 in (168 cm)[1]
Weight135 lb (61 kg; 9 st 9 lb)
DivisionFlyweight
StyleBoxing, Mixed Martial Arts
StanceOrthodox
TeamTribe Tokyo MMA[2]
Teacher(s)Ryo Chonan
Years active2015 – present
Mixed martial arts record
Total17
Wins13
By knockout11
By submission0
By decision2
Losses4
By knockout1
By submission2
By decision1
Draws0
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

As of April 27, 2020, he is #4 in the ONE Championship flyweight rankings.[4]

Early life

Wakamatsu was born in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima, a rural part of the Kagoshima prefecture, and grew up there with his parents and three siblings. As a youngster, Wakamatsu played soccer and started boxing, but never took sports too seriously and spent much of his time getting into trouble.[5]

"Little Piranha" graduated high school and became a carpenter, but his life turned around when he followed his mother and siblings to Tokyo to chase bigger opportunities.

There, he started training at Chonan's Tribe Tokyo MMA[6] after he had watched him compete in PRIDE and admired his courageous style of fighting.

Martial arts career

Wakamatsu began his mixed martial arts training at the age of 18, and made his debut at Vale Tudo Japan in 2015.

He lost via submission to Yuto Sekiguchi,[7] but then went on a nine-fight win streak.

His notable achievements in that time included three straight TKO wins to win the Pancrase Neo Blood Flyweight Tournament title.

Following his win over Shohei Masumizu at Pancrase 290, media outlets started to recognise his potential as a breakout star,[8] but he lost in his flyweight King Of Pancrase title match against Senzo Ikeda.[9]

After getting another TKO win, Wakamatsu signed for ONE Championship and faced Danny Kingad in his debut bout.[10]

Wakamatsu had the highest profile match of his career when he faced former UFC flyweight champion, Demetrious Johnson. Fans were surprised at his ability to damage Johnson in the stand-up exchanges, but he lost to a second-round guillotine.[11]

He got his first ONE victory via KO over former flyweight champion Geje Eustaquio,[12] and he followed that up with a decision win over veteran Dae Hwan Kim.[13]

Championships and Accomplishments

  • Pancrase
    • Pancrase 22nd Neo Blood Tournament Flyweight Champion (2016)
      • Pancrase 22nd Neo Blood Tournament MVP

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
17 matches 13 wins 4 losses
By knockout 11 1
By submission 0 2
By decision 2 1
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 13–4 Kim Kyu Sung KO (punches) ONE Championship: Inside the Matrix 2 6 November 2020 1 1:46 Kallang, Singapore
Win 12–4 Dae Hwan Kim Decision (unanimous) ONE Championship: Century 12 October 2019 3 5:00 Tokyo, Japan
Win 11–4 Geje Eustaquio KO (punch) ONE Championship: Dawn of Heroes 2 August 2019 1 1:59 Manila, Philippines
Loss 10–4 Demetrious Johnson Submission (guillotine choke) ONE Championship: A New Era 31 March 2019 2 2:40 Tokyo, Japan ONE Flyweight Grand Prix First Round.
Loss 10–3 Danny Kingad Decision (unanimous) ONE Championship: Conquest of Heroes 22 September 2018 3 5:00 Jakarta, Indonesia
Win 10–2 Mamoru Yamaguchi TKO (punches) Pancrase 297 1 July 2018 2 0:39 Tokyo, Japan
Loss 9–2 Senzo Ikeda TKO (knees and elbows) Pancrase 293 4 February 2018 5 2:18 Tokyo, Japan For the Pancrase Flyweight Championship
Win 9–1 Shohei Masumizu TKO (punches) Pancrase 290 8 October 2017 2 2:53 Tokyo, Japan
Win 8–1 Takahiro Furumaki KO (punch) Pancrase 287 28 May 2017 2 2:27 Tokyo, Japan
Win 7–1 Yuki Uejima TKO (punches) Pancrase 285 12 March 2017 1 2:49 Tokyo, Japan
Win 6–1 Yusuke Ogikubo Decision (split) Pancrase 283 18 December 2016 3 3:00 Tokyo, Japan
Win 5–1 Kazuhisa Tanaka KO (knee to the body) Pancrase 280 11 September 2016 1 2:06 Tokyo, Japan Neo Blood Tournament Finals.
Win 4–1 Masayuki Watanabe TKO (punches) Pancrase 278 12 June 2016 3 1:35 Tokyo, Japan Neo Blood Tournament Semifinals.
Win 3–1 Naoki Tanada TKO (punches) Pancrase 276 13 March 2016 1 2:50 Tokyo, Japan Neo Blood Tournament First Round.
Win 2–1 Sadashi Hamamatsu TKO (punches) Pancrase 274 20 December 2015 1 0:40 Tokyo, Japan
Win 1–1 Yoshinari Shinba KO ZST 48 18 October 2015 1 2:37 Tokyo, Japan
Loss 0–1 Yuto Sekiguchi Submission (armbar) VTJ in Osaka 21 June 2015 1 2:43 Osaka, Japan

See also

References

  1. "Yuya Wakamatsu". ONE FC. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  2. Tribe Tokyo https://www.tribetokyo.com/en/fighter/. Retrieved 6 May 2020. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. "【パンクラス】期待の新人王・若松佑弥「フナからピラニアに戻りたい」". efight. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  4. "ONE Championship Unveils First Official Athlete Rankings". ONE FC.com. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  5. "Former street fighter Yuya Wakamatsu out to upset Demetrious Johnson". AsianMMA. 2019-03-18. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  6. "Yuya Wakamatsu given opportunity of lifetime against Demetrious Johnson". TokyoReporter. 2019-03-13. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  7. Li, Lee (2015-06-21). "VTJ in Osaka results from the flyweight fest". Asia MMA. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  8. "Prospect Watch: Yuya Wakamatsu Making His Way To Big Leagues". www.flocombat.com. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  9. Eaton, Matt (2018-02-04). "Senzo Ikeda defends Pancrase title after epic clash with Wakamatsu | The Fight Nation". Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  10. "Japanese Flyweight Yuya Wakamatsu Signs with ONE, Debuts in Jakarta". MMAWeekly.com. 2018-08-17. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  11. Cruz, Guilherme (2019-03-31). "ONE Championship video: Demetrious Johnson submits Yuya Wakamatsu in debut". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  12. "Eustaquio loses to Japanese foe via 1st-round TKO". philstar.com. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  13. Altatis, Conan (2019-10-13). "Japan's Yuya Wakamatsu earns 2nd ONE Championship win, decisions Dae Hwan Kim at 'ONE: Century 世紀' in Tokyo". CONAN Daily. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
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