Yuya “Little Piranha” Wakamatsu

Pancrase Flyweight Tournament Champion Yuya Wakamatsu is originally from Kagoshima, on the southernmost tip of Japan’s four main islands. He was an aggressive child who would fight for no reason, often getting into trouble with his neighbors.

To curb his bad behavior, he began training in martial arts to release his energy and learn discipline. Wakamatsu began his training with boxing as a teenager, but he soon added multiple disciplines to his regimen after watching a ONE Championship event.

Wakamatsu moved to Tokyo at the age of 18 to pursue his martial arts dreams, and he made his professional MMA debut just two years later. Although he suffered a first-round submission loss, he was undeterred and subsequently went on an impressive nine-bout win streak, with eight victories coming by way of knockout.

He went on to claim the Pancrase Flyweight Tournament Championship in 2016, then maintained his incredible run to earn a shot at the Pancrase Title in 2018.

Wakamatsu signed with ONE Championship soon thereafter. Once part of the world’s largest martial arts organization, he faced the best flyweights in the world, including now-retired ONE Flyweight MMA World Champion Demetrious Johnson and former divisional king Adriano Moraes.