Maira Mazar Wants To Test Out Ayaka Miura’s Striking Game
Maira Mazar is excited to finally move a step closer towards her dream of becoming a World Champion in The Home Of Martial Arts.
This Friday, 10 January, she will make her promotional debut against Japanese strawweight contender Ayaka Miura at ONE: A NEW TOMORROW in Bangkok, Thailand.
Like many of her Brazilian compatriots who compete in ONE Championship, the 34-year-old is eager to prove she is worthy of representing her home country on the global stage.
“Brazil is a beautiful country with warriors who thrive despite the environment,” the Sao Paulo native says.
“I am happy to show the world the strength of Brazil, and that women can strive to be seen and represented.”
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A Pan American Sanda Champion, Mazar is an elite striker with fierce stopping power. In fact, four of her six career wins have come by way of knockout.
Even though the Sao Paulo native is supremely confident in the stand-up department, she is also feeling positive about her grappling acumen.
Mazar holds a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and her skills have gotten sharper ever since she relocated to Singapore and joined the Evolve Fight Team in 2019.
“I am a striker, but my grappling game has evolved a lot in recent years through my training sessions with Demian Maia’s Team in Brazil and this year at Evolve MMA,” Mazar shares.
“I have improved a lot in my grappling, so I’m excited to put what I’ve learned to the test.”
Her opposite number, Miura, will be the perfect opponent for Mazar to test herself against.
Miura, a third-degree judo black belt, became one of the brightest stars in the women’s strawweight division last year, and the 29-year-old Japanese athlete has surged up the rankings due to a pair of outstanding submission victories.
The Tribe Tokyo MMA representative submitted Laura “La Gladiadora” Balin in 73 seconds with her trademark scarf hold Americana at ONE: CALL TO GREATNESS in February, and then she tapped out Samara “Marituba” Santos in the second round with the same hold in August.
Mazar acknowledges the threat her rival can pose on the ground, but she also believes she can maintain her advantage if she keeps their contest upright.
“She is a very good judo fighter and she takes down her opponents for submissions in all her fights, so I can’t let her take me down,” the Singapore-based Brazilian explains.
“She doesn’t have as good of a striking game as I do, so I will use a lot of footwork and hard strikes to keep the fight standing.”
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Now in a training environment that is conducive to her development as a professional athlete and mixed martial artist, Mazar is ready to make the most of her opportunity on Friday.
The Brazilian is motivated to start the year — and the decade — with a victory, and she is grateful to have found the ideal platform to achieve her dreams of becoming a World Champion in the sport.
“I’ve been waiting for my debut for a long time. I’m very excited and hungry for this fight. It is the most important, and the biggest, opportunity for me to achieve my dreams with ONE Championship,” she explains.
“ONE showcases authentic martial arts to the rest of the world, but the difference between them and other [promotions] is the respect and values they uphold for the athletes, their limits, and their health. I have never seen it before. It is truly wonderful.”
