Yuki Yoza
ยูกิ โยซะ
- Date of birth
- 20 December 1997
- Nationality
- Japan
- Born in
- Tsuchiura, Japan
- Sports
- Kickboxing / Karate
- Promotion
- ONE Championship / K-1
- Style
- Kyokushin-based kickboxer who fights in and out on rhythm and piles up low and body kicks
Yuki Yoza profile
Yuki Yoza is a 28-year-old Japanese kickboxer from Tsuchiura, Ibaraki, a former K-1 lightweight world champion, and the man who beat Superlek Kiatmoo9 in Tokyo in November 2025. He is 23-3 as a professional and meets Nabil Anane at ONE SAMURAI 4 on 17 October 2026.
Karate first, and a job he quit
Yoza started Kyokushin karate at six, made Japan's youth national team, won the All Japan title at 65 kg in 2016 and the IKO world title at 70 kg in 2017. He holds a second-dan black belt.
He turned professional in kickboxing in 2019 while still working a day job, then quit the job to train full time. The K-1 world title followed a few years later.
K-1 champion, and five Thai opponents
He beat Taio Asahisa on 12 March 2023 for the K-1 lightweight title at 62.5 kg and held it until April 2025, when he vacated it to move to ONE.
Along the way he stopped Aikmongkol Gaiyanghadao with a liver kick 43 seconds into the first round, dropped Kongnapa Weerasakreck three times inside a round, and finished Petchdam Petchyindee Academy with accumulated low kicks in September 2024.
Three straight wins in ONE, including Superlek
He debuted at ONE Friday Fights 109 in May 2025 with a decision over Elbrus Osmanov, then beat former world champion Petchtanong Petchfergus in July.
On 16 November 2025 at ONE 173 in Tokyo he took a unanimous decision over Superlek Kiatmoo9 in front of a home crowd, and closed the year as Beyond Kickboxing's Fighter of the Year, ranked eighth pound-for-pound.
A world title fight, and the road back
On 29 April 2026 in Tokyo he challenged Jonathan Haggerty for the ONE bantamweight kickboxing world title and lost a unanimous decision over five rounds, his first defeat in five years.
He answered it on 17 July 2026 at The Inner Circle 22 in Bangkok, beating Ben Woolliss on points, and asked for the Haggerty rematch straight afterwards.
Next: Nabil Anane, 17 October
ONE has booked him against Nabil Anane, the promotion's bantamweight Muay Thai world champion, in a kickboxing bout at ONE SAMURAI 4 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo on Saturday 17 October 2026.
The two have been trading words in the media since last year. Whoever wins takes the next step in the bantamweight kickboxing division.
Record
Scope: คิกบ็อกซิงอาชีพ · last verified 25 September 2026
This is the English edition of a profile written for MuaySpot's Thai database. อ่านฉบับภาษาไทย (read the Thai edition), which carries the full career timeline, photo captions and related news.