Yuya Wakamatsu has grown a lot since he moved from Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture, to Tokyo — both as a fighter and a person.
Wakamatsu, who now competes in the 135-pound ONE Championship flyweight division, had a difficult time staying out of trouble in his hometown in Kagoshima Prefecture, with little more than the surrounding nature and occasional soccer game to distract him.
“Nature was always with me; the ocean and the mountains,” the 25-year-old told The Japan Times from Tokyo. “I wasn’t familiar with the martial arts. I was playing soccer back then.