Sawada meets Nikolakakos for the atomweight title

Chihiro Sawada meets Anastasia Nikolakakos for the vacant ONE women’s atomweight title on Wednesday, December 2, at Yokohama Buntai in Yokohama. The bout is at ONE Samurai 6. It is five rounds, and atomweight is 115 pounds (52 kg).

Denice Zamboanga vacated the belt on June 23, 2026, after a child with Fritz Biagtan. She had won the interim title by second-round TKO of Alyona Rassohyna at ONE Fight Night 27 in January 2025, the first Filipina to win an MMA world title, and it paid a $50,000 bonus. Stamp Fairtex gave up the lineal belt in May 2025 because of injury, and Zamboanga was elevated. ONE pulled Zamboanga’s first defense against Ayaka Miura at ONE 173 on November 16, 2025, for medical reasons. Zamboanga is 12-2, with seven wins in ONE.

Sawada is 28 and 12-1-1, and Sawada is 7-1 in ONE. She is a former Shooto atomweight champion, and five of the wins are submissions. A win would make her the first Japanese woman to hold a ONE world title. Sawada opened in ONE with wins over Sanaz Fayazmanesh, Jihin Radzuan, and Noelle Grandjean. Meng Bo beat her by unanimous decision at ONE Fight Night 27 in January 2025, her first loss, and Sawada has won four in a row. Sawada submitted Macarena Aragon with an armbar in the first round at ONE Fight Night 33, then beat Itsuki Hirata by unanimous decision. This year she handed Natalie Salcedo the first loss of Salcedo’s career, and Sawada submitted Ayaka Miura with an armbar at 4:33 of the first round at ONE Samurai 1 on April 29.

Nikolakakos is 36 and 7-0, and Nikolakakos is 2-0 in ONE. She lives in Toronto and holds a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. Nikolakakos beat Jihin Radzuan by split decision at ONE Fight Night 45 on July 17. Radzuan found the fight from the second round, and the decision was close. Nikolakakos knocked out Victoria Souza at 4:59 of the first round on March 13, taking mount and landing two right hands.