Yamakita Faces Pacio With His First Child Due the Next Day
Keito Yamakita has the biggest fight of his career and the birth of his first child in the same week. He challenges ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion Joshua Pacio at ONE SAMURAI 5 on Wednesday, Nov. 18, and his wife is due the day after.
Title shot in Tokyo
The card takes place at EBARA WAVE Arena Ota in Tokyo. Yamakita, 30, comes from the wrestling mats of Inabe in Mie Prefecture. He arrives with a 6-1 record in ONE and a five-fight winning streak.
He has also been a Pancrase champion in Japan. Yamakita says that even then he felt he was chasing the belt for himself.
Fatherhood changes the motivation
Yamakita told onefc.com the couple had wanted a child for quite a while. He felt relieved when it happened, with some worries, and the wait of hundreds of days seemed endless. Now, he says, he is restless and excited.
He says he does not yet feel fully mature enough for what is coming, but he is looking forward to growing into fatherhood once his son arrives.
The shift shows in how he talks about the fight. "Now I have my son to do it for as well, so that gives me even more motivation," he said.
At home, his wife has never demanded a gold belt. She only wants him to come back in one piece.
What he wants his son to see
Yamakita expects to keep fighting as a father and says he would love his son to watch him compete. That will probably come further down the road. If he wins, he hopes the boy may one day think his dad was someone amazing.
He also sees an edge in his position. He believes a challenger who hungers for the belt holds an advantage over the man defending it.
"If I win, I can become the world's strongest dad," Yamakita said. He added that the fight has come at a time when he absolutely cannot afford to lose, for himself, for his supporters and for his son.