SUMMARY
- Chihiro Sawada is set to fight Noelle Grandjean at ONE Fight Night 22.
- If she gets a win, Sawada may find herself in a position to fight Stamp Fairtex.
Chihiro Sawada looms as a serious threat to ONE Women’s Atomweight MMA World Champion Stamp Fairtex’s reign, and she plans to prove it once again this weekend.
The Japanese wrestling standout will look to make it three-straight wins to open her ONE tenure when she faces French-Thai Noelle Grandjean at ONE Fight Night 22: Sundell vs. Diachkova on Prime Video. The blockbuster card airs live in U.S. primetime on May 3 from Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
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After a successful debut in 2023, Sawada made a statement in her second promotional appearance last month. That time, she dominated fifth-ranked women’s atomweight MMA contender Jihin Radzuan in a 120-pound catchweight bout at ONE Fight Night 20.
The 26-year-old won numerous wrestling championships in her home country before transitioning to MMA in 2021. Her wrestling pedigree has been on full show in her two fights to date under the ONE banner, and her skills will no doubt have the rest of the stacked division’s top five looking over their shoulders.
Chihiro Sawada is not getting ahead of herself
With another stiff test on her hands against Noelle Grandjean at ONE Fight Night 22, women’s atomweight MMA rising star Chihiro Sawada is refusing to look too far ahead.
After her victory over Radzuan, the undefeated Sawada refused to be drawn into any bold predictions on what might lay in her future.
“This victory is going to make me a ranked athlete and of course from now on, I’m going to face nothing but strong opponents,” she said.
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“I will keep an attitude as if I were a challenger so that I’m not overconfident. To challenge for the World Title, I think I need to gain more experience. I don’t think I can immediately challenge for the title yet, but I need to steadily improve.”
In the meantime, Stamp also has her hands full. The history-making atomweight MMA queen will attempt the first defense of her crown when she faces former training partner Denice Zamboanga in the ONE 167 main event on June 7.
Following that, Stamp Fairtex will move up in weight to challenge long-time ONE Women’s Strawweight MMA World Champion Xiong Jing Nan for another slice of history at ONE 168: Denver on September 6.
