WPMF Japan Women’s Pinweight Champion Saya Ito made a successful defence of her title on Sunday at The Battle of Muay Thai 9 in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The 16-year-old “Muay Thai Genius” earned a clear-cut Unanimous Decision victory over challenger Yoshimi “443” Hatayama.

Ito shut down Hatayama’s offence with effective clinch work throughout the five-round title fight and she extended her winning streak to seven with the victory. The talented teen has set her sights on a securing a matchup with WPMF and WMC Women’s Pinweight World Champion Little Tiger.

Ito (78-12-3 amateur, 8-2-1 pro) traded body kicks and punches with Hatayama (7-6-2) in the opening round and both women had success with strikes in the clinch. Ito took control of the fight in the middle rounds, however, and she repeatedly scored with front kicks, body kicks and overhand rights.

Hatayama rallied somewhat in round four, and she had early success with punching combinations. Ito remained calm and she countered effectively with kicks from a distance. She continued to counter Hatayama’s aggression with quick body kicks and more clinch strikes in the final round.

All three judges scored the bout 50-47 for Ito, who repeated after Sunday’s fight that she is interested in challenging one of Japan’s most decorated female Muay Thai fighters, WPMF and WMC world champ Little Tiger (27-11-5), to a championship fight in the future. Ito has now won seven straight fights since opening her pro career with a modest 1-2-1 start against high-level opposition.

Winner: Saya Ito by Unanimous Decision (50-47, 50-47, 50-47) after five 2:00 rounds. She improves her professional Muay Thai record to 8-2-1 and remains the WPMF Japan Women’s Pinweight Champion.

(Photo Credit: Hirofumi Sugi)