Ayaka “Zombie” Miura

Ayaka Miura wasn’t necessarily athletic in her childhood, so she originally never dreamed of becoming a professional martial artist.

But her father was a huge fan of martial arts and watched it regularly on television, prompting Miura to try her hand at judo. Ultimately, she earned a third-degree black belt and that would help direct the Japanese grappler on her MMA journey.

When Miura was 22 years old, she was working at a bone-setting clinic. One day, a mixed martial artist entered her clinic for treatment and after hearing about the sport, she grew increasingly interested and eventually stepped into the gym to try it for herself. 

Miura subsequently joined Tribe Tokyo MMA, where she trained for less than two years before making her professional debut, which she won via submission in less than 90 seconds.

With former two-division DEEP Champion Ryo Chonan coaching her, “Zombie” followed up that effort with a slew of impressive victories in Japanese promotions Pancrase and DEEP Jewels. ONE Championship noticed Miura’s skills and incredible record, eventually signing her to the roster in 2019.

Miura proved to be an exciting addition to the world’s largest martial arts organization, as she used her judo-heavy style to overwhelm opponents and even earned four wins via scarf-hold Americana. That led to a ONE Women’s Strawweight MMA World Championship opportunity against dominant Chinese titleholder Xiong Jing Nan in January 2022.