Rukiya Anpo won’t fight at ONE SAMURAI 4. ONE Championship announced on X early Saturday that Anpo failed to make weight and failed to provide a hydration sample for his lightweight kickboxing bout with Bogdan Shumarov, and the matchup was pulled from Saturday’s card at Ariake Arena in Tokyo. Per a Bangkok Post headline, Anpo said the fight was off after his ninth failed hydration test.
The trouble started at Friday’s checks. ONE posted that Anpo and Rifdean Masdor had both failed weight and hydration, while Luo Chao missed weight. Under ONE’s rules, all three had to submit a hydrated sample before anyone could talk catchweight with their opponents. Anpo never got there.
This was supposed to be a fresh start. Anpo was moving up to lightweight after dropping his ONE debut to Marat Grigorian, per Combat Press. Instead he leaves Tokyo with an 0-1 promotional record and a hydration problem that’s turned into the story of his ONE run so far.
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Ihara Picks a Side, Sort Of
The online fight started when @valentine_hoso, who described himself as the CEO of Samurai Soul, posted a long breakdown on X. He wrote that he normally treats any fighter who misses weigh-ins as the loser, then explained that ONE’s test measures urine concentration, and that some bodies may read as dehydrated even when they’re fine. He pointed to muscular athletes, heavy sweaters and people whose kidneys concentrate urine more, and cited research on rugby players who passed blood tests for hydration but got flagged by urine specific gravity. His proposal: ONE should consider blood testing, and Anpo should take the test at his normal walking weight to find out whether the problem is his body or his contract weight. If Anpo passes at full weight, he wrote, the fault is Anpo’s. If Anpo can only pass at a weight that’s way too heavy, ONE might not be the right home for him.
Ryotaro Ihara quoted that post and wasn’t buying the gentle tone. He said on X that he’d pegged hoso as a guy who uses righteous-sounding takes to rally the internet against people, and noted that he seemed a lot softer on someone from his own circle. Ihara’s bottom line, in his words: “ルールはルール” (rules are rules), with nothing else to it. He added that if a BD fighter had done the same thing, hoso would have hammered them. Then he closed with a twist: he said he’s on the side that feels sorry for Anpo.
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The rest of the card went on. Masaaki Noiri took a split decision over Mohammad Siasarani in the featherweight kickboxing tournament semifinal, Nabil Anane beat Yuki Yoza by unanimous decision and Sinsamut Klinmee knocked out Shintaro Matsukura at 1:17 of Round 2, according to Cageside Press.
My Take
Ihara’s got the right answer, even if he got there by dunking on somebody first. Hoso’s science is interesting and ONE should look at blood testing, but nine failures is past the point of bad luck on a urine cup. Anpo knew the test existed and knew it beat him before. He signed at lightweight anyway. The walking-weight test hoso suggested is the smartest idea in this whole mess, and Anpo should run it publicly before ONE books him again. Also, ONE, maybe don’t stick a “ONE-TIME OFFER” for The Inner Circle at $9.99 a month directly under the tweet announcing you just lost a fight from the card.
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