Hayato Suzuki is on man on a mission following first defeat

Japanese strawweight star Hayato Suzuki has admitted having sleepless nights since his heartbreaking submission loss to Alex Silva last year.

Suzuki went into his bout against Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Silva with an undefeated record, and an expectation that he’d soon be competing for the ONE Strawweight World Title.

His world title dream was ended just moments into the contest when he shot in for his first takedown attempt of the bout, as Silva quickly transitioned to an armbar and finished the contest in just 82 seconds.

Ever since he experienced the first loss of his professional career two months ago, the 20-bout veteran has been haunted by the memory of defeat.

“I could not get over it for a while,” said the 31 year old.

“Whatever I did, that defeat followed me around. I even had nightmares.”

Now with a record of 17 wins, one defeat and two draws, Suzuki is looking to bounce back to winning ways after the first defeat of his martial arts career.

It’s a new situation for Suzuki, who had previously dominated the Japanese martial arts scene as one of the nation’s premier strawweights, capturing the Grachan Flyweight Championship.

His arrival in ONE Championship saw him score an impressive first-round submission victory over Joshua Pacio at ONE: KINGS & CONQUERORS in August 2017, and Suzuki’s trajectory appeared to be aimed directly towards the ONE Strawweight World Title, held at the time by fellow countryman Yoshitaka Naito.

Suzuki’s momentum came to a halt when he faced off against Silva at ONE: LEGENDS OF THE WORLD. Instead of Suzuki, it was the Brazilian who went on to challenge for Naito’s title, outstriking him over five rounds to become the new ONE Strawweight World Champion.

Looking back on his defeat to Silva, Suzuki admits he was too distracted by the prize of a title shot, rather than staying focused on the challenge at hand.

“I thought about the future — the belt — too much, and I was not focused enough, and lacked the strong feeling that I was going to win the bout that was in front of me,” he explained.

“I learned the strictness of the ‘win or lose’ game. Things do not go as you imagine, and one mistake ruins everything.”

Stung by defeat for the first time, Suzuki went back to his home base at Brave Gym and launched himself back into training under his coach, Kazuyuki Miyata, with renewed vigor.

Now he’s ready to return, with the Tokyo-based strawweight set to jump back into the ONE Championship cage against Yago “Codorninha” Bryan at ONE: GLOBAL SUPERSTARS in Manila, Philippines on Friday 26 January.

Bryan will offer a different tyle of test to the one posed by Silva in Suzuki’s last matchup. The 25-year-old Brazilian has solid wrestling and a background in Muay Thai. He trains out of the respected Nova Uniao camp, home to many top-level Brazilian athletes. He’s a Shooto South American Strawweight Champion and also has an undefeated 9-0 record in Muay Thai.

Despite Bryan’s credentials, Suzuki believes his ground game, plus his ability to offer a variation of looks inside the cage, will give him the edge when the pair meet at the Mall of Asia Arena.

“I have an advantage in takedowns and on the ground,” he said.

“Also, if I mix my takedown techniques with my striking, I can have a bigger advantage over him.”

For Suzuki, the path ahead of him is clear and free of distractions. His two goals of avenging his only career loss and capturing the ONE Strawweight Title now sit side by side with Silva as the champion.

Now Suzuki’s task is clear, go back to what he does best - winning - and make a strong case for a rematch with the Brazilian, where victory would bring the ultimate prize, the ONE Strawweight World Title.

“I want to win against Bryan, and then I want to challenge Alex Silva again. Winning makes my life worth living,” Suzuki declared.

“I lost against Alex, but I still believe that I have the biggest chance to defeat him among the rest of the athletes on the strawweight roster. He is my obstacle, and I am gonna challenge him and win.”