The eighth strawweight champion in Shooto’s long, prestigious history, Koha Minowa (11-2) has signed with ONE Championship.
The contract was signed last week at ONE’s headquarters in Singapore.
At just 20-years-old, Koha Minowa has proven himself to be one of Japan’s best up-and-coming talents. Extending his win streak to four back in January, “Hiroba” faced Yohei Komaki at Shooto 0126 for Shooto’s vacant 115-pound title. The 20-year-old Minowa overwhelmed his foe, besting him everywhere before forcing the submission late in round two with a rear naked choke.
The fourth world champion moving from competing in Shooto to ONE, Minowa has been competing in Shooto since his amateur days. In fact, Minowa has competed in Shooto since he was 12-years-old, competing in Junior Shooto bouts. He is the best fighter to go from Junior Shooto to Amateur Shooto all the way to Professional Shooto. One of his two career losses came against former Shooto and ONE champion Yosuke Saruta back in 2017.
Koha Minowa has this to say regarding his ONE Championship signing:
“I am very pleased to have signed a contract with ONE Championship. I have gone from Kids Shooto to Shooto world champion, and I believe I’ve earned this contract. I want to live my dreams for the kids to thank them and show them that they can do it too. I would like to thank Chatri Sityodtong and everyone at ONE Championship for giving me this opportunity.”
A debut date and opponent has not been confirmed for Koha Minowa as of yet.