Miura Plans To Submit Bastos En Route To World Title Challenge
Ayaka Miura knows where her specialty lies, and she plans on taking the direct route there against Rayane Bastos.
The Japanese judoka is not keeping her game plan a secret when it comes to the 58.25-kilogram catchweight encounter at ONE: DANGAL, which airs this Saturday, 15 May.
“As usual, I will bring Bastos to the ground and submit her. That is what is always on my mind,” Miura says.
“Zombie,” who exploded onto the global stage with three straight scarf-hold Americana submission wins, suffered her first setback against Tiffany “No Chill” Teo last time out, but that loss only served as motivation to improve.
The Tribe Tokyo MMA star quickly got back in the gym, focused on her area of expertise, and worked on more ways to put her rivals in danger on the mat.
“After that defeat, I practiced more, and now I know more,” she says. “I have multiple moves to clinch and bring my opponents to the ground.”
Miura certainly recognizes that Bastos is a dangerous opponent who will bring a well-rounded skill set to the Circle.
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With that in mind, the 30-year-old Tokyo native knows she must get their fight to the ground and use her vaunted grappling ability.
“Bastos is a good striker, so probably the most important part is how to avoid that,” Miura says.
“If you look at her previous bout [in ONE] too, she submitted her opponent, so it might be a bit tough. But my plan is to bring it to the ground and submit her.
“If I can’t submit Bastos, then there’s no way I can win, but I’m very confident with my ground game, so I’ll be okay.”
At 10-3 (1 NC) in her mixed martial arts career, “Zombie” has competed more than Bastos. It’s a factor that could boost the Japanese veteran when the going gets tough in their contest.
“I have more experience, so that’s where I’m going to look for holes in the bout and try to work against her,” Miura says.
Given her current status as the #4-ranked women’s strawweight contender, Miura knows this is a crucial fight in her career. After an explosive rise up the ranks, another setback could derail her big plans for the future.
Those big plans include potential World Title fights at both strawweight and atomweight, and a statement win over Bastos would get the Tokyo native closer to the biggest names in each weight class.
“I am interested in fighting anyone in both divisions, and I am also interested in the rematch [with Teo] or a World Title bout — whatever comes, I will take it.”
If she does receive a World Championship opportunity at some point, Miura believes she has the tools to topple reigning atomweight queen “Unstoppable” Angela Lee and current women’s strawweight ruler “The Panda” Xiong Jing Nan.
But first, the judo black belt must focus on the difficult task at hand and get the job done against Bastos at ONE: DANGAL.
“Whether it’s Angela or Xiong, if I can push my opponent and put the pressure on them, they won’t be able to escape,” Miura offers.
“But if I think about the future [too much], it’s not very good. It won’t go in a good way. So, I’ll forget about what I said now and focus on the fight.”
Read more: 5 Reasons To Watch ONE: DANGAL
