Yamakita Submits Tanoue With First-Round Choke

Keito Yamakita did not need long to make his statement at ONE Samurai.

The Japanese flyweight submitted Koyuru Tanoue in the first round, finishing the all-Japanese 125-pound matchup with a bulldog choke at 4:37.

The finish was Yamakita's third submission in his last five fights, adding to a record that now stands at 13-1. Tanoue, making his ONE debut after building his professional career primarily in the Japanese promotion Shooto, suffered the fifth loss of his sixteen-fight career on the occasion of his biggest night.

Yamakita found his mark inside the opening round against an opponent who was debuting in front of a new audience and had something to prove. Five straight wins in the promotion, a finish rate that gives the crowd what it came for, and a 13-1 record that positions him as a legitimate contender in the flyweight division — these are the building blocks of a promotional asset that ONE will want to develop carefully.

Tanoue will regroup and reassess after a difficult introduction to the promotion. His Shooto career gave him the credibility to earn the ONE debut, and one first-round loss does not close the door on what he can build at this level.

For Saturday night in Tokyo, though, the story belonged to Yamakita. He arrived needing a performance and delivered one efficiently, wrapping up a bulldog choke before the first round was finished and sending the Ota City Gymnasium home satisfied.