‘My Advantage Lies On The Ground’ – Ayaka Miura Embracing Grappler Vs. Striker Showdown With Meng Bo
Japanese submission specialist Ayaka “Zombie” Miura knows exactly where she’ll have the edge in her strawweight MMA showdown with Meng Bo this Friday at ONE Fight Night 16: Haggerty vs. Andrade on Prime Video.
That pivotal matchup will air live in U.S. primetime from Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, and it will be Miura’s first MMA appearance since injuring her arm against Dayane Cardoso in April 2022.
“Zombie” had previously challenged Xiong Jing Nan for the ONE Women’s Strawweight MMA World Title, while Meng is now riding a two-fight winning streak to find herself on the cusp of her own World Title opportunity.
The Chinese knockout artist has also been on Miura’s radar for a long time – although the latter didn’t anticipate their matchup coming under these circumstances.
The 33-year-old told onefc.com:
“I always thought the day would come when I’d face [Meng], but I expected her to fight for the title immediately. So, I was surprised that she would be fighting me at this point.”
With her third-degree judo black belt, a 100 percent submission rate in ONE, and six career victories by way of scarf-hold Americana, Miura is widely regarded as the division’s most dangerous ground fighter.
Her foe, on the other hand, is a skilled striker and ruthless finisher, having scored a trio of highlight-reel knockouts in the world’s largest martial arts organization.
With that in mind, the Tokyo native is ready for a classic striker-versus-grappler battle:
“My advantage lies on the ground. As she’s a striker, I think her strength lies in being a knockout fighter. That’s where I see her advantage.”
Indeed, “Zombie’s” most likely path to victory appears to be on the canvas, where she can impose her immense physicality and refined technique.
But the Tribe Tokyo MMA representative remains open to claiming the victory in any way possible, whether via submission, knockout, or hard-fought decision:
“I just want to win. I don’t have an ideal way to win. I just want to win.”
Miura Ready To Showcase Improvements After Submission Grappling Match With Danielle Kelly
Even though Ayaka Miura hasn’t competed in MMA in 18 months, she hasn’t been entirely out of action.
This past February at ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video, she pushed current ONE Women’s Atomweight Submission Grappling World Champion Danielle Kelly to her limit in a high-paced, back-and-forth submission grappling contest.
While she ultimately dropped a decision to the BJJ superstar, “Zombie” says that competing in submission grappling – and the months of focused training that came along with it – leveled up her already world-renowned ground game.
She added:
“Before the grappling match was confirmed with Kelly, there were many techniques I wasn’t familiar with, especially unique submissions in grappling. Many MMA fighters are unfamiliar with these techniques. I believe I’ve developed the ability to recognize such moves and how to counter them, even if I can’t execute them myself.
“The preparation period for the grappling match was three months, and during this period, I had the opportunity to study how to use my existing skills to attack grapplers. While I think grappling with a grappler can be challenging if you don’t have the necessary experience, I believe my approach has become clearer.”
