ONE Samurai 3: Nadaka Wins His Kickboxing Debut, Wakamatsu's Left Hand Ends It Early
Yokohama Buntai, Yokohama — September 12, 2026
ONE's first night at Yokohama Buntai belonged to the locals. Atomweight Muay Thai champion Nadaka Yoshinari moved to kickboxing rules and won on the cards; former flyweight champ Yuya Wakamatsu broke Willie van Rooyen's night with a left hand.
The BOXING OS Desk · Sep 14, 2026 · 4 MIN READ
- ✓Nadaka Yoshinari, the atomweight Muay Thai champion, won his kickboxing debut by unanimous decision over Har Ling Om.
- ✓Yuya Wakamatsu stopped Willie van Rooyen in round two — a left hand damaged the jaw and the doctor waved it off.
- ✓ONE's first visit to Yokohama Buntai ran MMA, Muay Thai and kickboxing on one card.
- ✓A champion changing rulesets and winning on the cards is a bigger technical statement than it sounds.
- ✓The lesson: a ruleset change is a weapons change — you are not learning a new sport, you are learning which of your tools are now illegal.
ONE Samurai 3 took place at Yokohama Buntai on September 12, 2026 — ONE Championship's first event at the venue. In the main event, ONE atomweight Muay Thai champion Nadaka Yoshinari won his kickboxing debut by unanimous decision over Har Ling Om. In the co-main, former flyweight MMA champion Yuya Wakamatsu beat Willie van Rooyen by second-round TKO after a left hand injured van Rooyen's jaw and the ringside physician stopped the fight. The card mixed MMA, Muay Thai and kickboxing across the night, with a run of home wins for the Japanese fighters.
A Muay Thai champion in a kickboxing fight, a former MMA champion throwing hands, and a building hosting ONE for the first time. Yokohama got a night that argued for the whole idea of a mixed card.
Nadaka, under new rules Nadaka Yoshinari is the atomweight Muay Thai champion. Saturday he fought Har Ling Om under kickboxing rules — no elbows, a different clinch, a different rhythm — and took a unanimous decision. On paper a debut; in practice a champion proving his base transfers when a third of his weapons are taken away. It does.
Wakamatsu's left Yuya Wakamatsu, the former flyweight champion, landed a left hand in the second round that changed the shape of Willie van Rooyen's jaw. The ringside physician looked, and that was the fight. A doctor's stoppage is an unglamorous way to win and one of the most honest — the damage was visible enough that nobody needed to argue about it.
The lesson: a ruleset is a weapons list Fighters cross rulesets more than ever — kickboxers into MMA, Muay Thai champions into kickboxing, boxers into crossover cards. The mistake is to treat it as a new sport to learn. It is the same sport with a different list of legal tools, and the winner is the one who works out fastest which of his best weapons just became fouls — and which of the opponent's just became available. Nadaka lost his elbows and his long clinch and still won on the cards because his footwork and kicks never depended on them. Muay Thai versus boxing and kickboxing for beginners map the differences if you are thinking about crossing over yourself.
Take a champion's elbows away and you find out what the rest of him is worth. Nadaka's answer was: enough.
The rest of the weekend: Noche UFC in Glendale · OKTAGON's Brno farewell.
FAQ
Who won the ONE Samurai 3 main event?+
Nadaka Yoshinari, by unanimous decision over Har Ling Om, in his kickboxing debut on September 12, 2026, in Yokohama. Nadaka holds the ONE atomweight Muay Thai title.
How did Wakamatsu vs van Rooyen end?+
Yuya Wakamatsu won by second-round TKO — a left hand injured Willie van Rooyen's jaw and the ringside physician ruled he could not continue.
What was ONE Samurai 3?+
ONE Championship's first event at Yokohama Buntai, a mixed card of MMA, Muay Thai and kickboxing headlined by Japanese fighters at home.
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