After winning her promotional debut via submission, ONE atomweight MMA contender Natalie Salcedo of the United States is eager to display her striking in her sophomore appearance.
This Friday, live in U.S. Primetime, the 33-year-old returns against Japanese star Chihiro Sawada at ONE Fight Night 39 on January 23. This three-round battle is a potential world title eliminator, going down inside the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Salcedo carries a pristine 4-0 record to this contest, built from her well-rounded abilities. The global audience witnessed her incredible grappling prowess against Macarena Aragon.
At ONE Fight Night 35 last September, she was able to beat the judoka at her own game, punishing her on the ground and finishing her in the first round with a slick armbar.
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Now, she’ll be facing a former Shooto champion, who notched five wins in the promotion using her suffocating wrestling repertoire.
Sawada is coming off a lot of momentum after dominating Itsuki ‘Android 18’ Hirata across three rounds at ONE 173.
Speaking with Nick Atkin, Salcedo teased that she’ll unleash her underrated striking against Sawada:
“I haven’t really had a huge amount of opportunities in my fights to really show my striking for the most part. So I think that if that’s where the fight ends up, then I think that’s great too. I’m excited for that.”
Watch the full interview:
Natalie Salcedo says she’ll beat Chihiro Sawada at her own game
If Chihiro Sawada refuses to strike with Natalie Salcedo, the American star wouldn’t mind a grappling battle as well.
The Colorado native is confident that her elite jiu-jitsu would be too much for the Japanese grappling specialist:
“I think that to a large extent, I’m gonna do kind of a little bit of what people expect me to do, and I’m gonna outgrapple her,” she told Nick Atkin.
Prime Video subscribers across North America can stream ONE Fight Night 39 free of charge.
Edited by Saiyed Adeem Karim