By The Numbers: Kairat Akhmetov vs. Tatsumitsu Wada

Their sights set on title contention in the One Championship flyweight division, Kairat Akhmetov and Tatsumitsu Wada will confront one another in a featured One 158 attraction on Friday at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. The two men are part of a group trying to keep up with the pace being set by longtime divisional kingpin Adriano Moraes. Akhmetov enters the cage on the strength of a four-fight winning streak. The former flyweight champion last competed at One “Winter Warriors 2,” where he took a three-round unanimous decision from Danny Kingad on Dec. 3. Wada, meanwhile, has rattled off back-to-back victories for the first time since he won eight in a row between Dec. 31, 2014 and April 28, 2018. He last fought on Jan. 28, when he outpointed Shuo Wang to a unanimous verdict at One “Only the Brave.” As Akhmetov and Wada approach their pivotal encounter at 135 pounds, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point: 34: Years of age for Akhmetov, who was born on Oct. 12, 1987 in Taldykorgan, Kazakhstan. 10: Akhmetov victories by submission, accounting for 40% of his career total (25). His methods of choice: six rear-naked chokes, one guillotine choke, one Achilles lock, one armbar and one non-descript choke. Akhmetov holds five other victories by knockout or technical knockout and 10 more by decision. 2: Sub-minute finishes on the Akhmetov resume. He put away Anatoly Akhmetov with a rear-naked choke in 48 seconds at an Iron Horde show on May 1, 2010 and punched out Ruslan Belikov at a Bushido Lithuania event on Dec. 21, 2011. 41: Rounds completed by Akhmetov as a professional mixed martial artist. He has gone the distance on 12 different occasions and carries a 10-2 record in those bouts. .756: Cumulative winning percentage between the two opponents—Moraes and Geje Eustaquio—who have beaten Akhmetov. They boast a combined record of 34-11. 33: Years of age for Wada, who was born in Minamiarupusu, Japan, on Nov. 16, 1988. 5: Wada wins by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 22% of his career total (23). His complete list of victims: Jae Nam Yoo, Jae Hyun So, Gyu Hwa Kim, Yusaku Nakamura and Takeshi Numajiri. Wada owns four other wins by submission and 14 more by decision. 52: Seconds needed for Wada to submit Eugene Toquero with a rear-naked choke at One Championship “Warrior’s Dream” on Nov. 17, 2018. Having occurred more than three years ago, it remains his fastest finish to date. 15: Consecutive calendar years in which Wada has fought at least once. In addition to his 1-0 mark in 2022, he went 0-4 in 2008, 0-0 with one no contest in 2009, 3-1-1 in 2010, 3-0 in 2011, 1-1-1 in 2012, 3-0 in 2013, 1-1 in 2014, 2-0 in 2015, 3-0 in 2016, 1-0 in 2017, 2-1 in 2018, 1-2 in 2019, 1-1 in 2020 and 1-0 in 2021. 182: Combined victories between the 10 men—Yodkaikaew Fairtex, Demetrious Johnson, Danny Kingad, Reece McLaren, Yuki Motoya, Yoshiro Maeda, Hiroshi Nakamura, Wataru Inatsu, Tomoya Miyashita and Seiji Akao (twice)—who have defeated Wada. They sport a cumulative .645 winning percentage (182-82-18).