The 22-year-old Japanese standout will confront the once-beaten Bokang Masunyane in a pivotal One 159 strawweight showcase on July 22 at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. Minowa has recorded six victories across his past seven appearances. He last competed at One “Only the Brave,” where Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Jarred Brooks outpointed him to a unanimous decision and slammed the door on his six-fight winning streak on Jan. 28.
As Minowa approaches his high-stakes showdown with Masunyane, here are five things you might not know about him:
1. He was not afforded much of a runway.
Minowa made his professional mixed martial arts debut at the age of 16 when he put away Nobuyuki Fujii with a first-round guillotine choke under the Shooto banner on Nov. 8, 2015. He went on to fight 12 times as a teenager, compiling a stellar 10-2 record before he turned 20.
2. A championship was his springboard.
“Hiroba” laid claim to the vacant Shooto strawweight crown on Jan. 26, 2020, as he submitted Yohei Komaki with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their Korakuen Hall rematch in Tokyo. Minowa agreed to terms with One Championship soon after and made the jump a little more than nine months later.
3. No one has cracked his combination.
Minowa has never been finished in his 16-fight career. In addition to his aforementioned loss to Brooks, he dropped a unanimous verdict to Yosuke Saruta in April 2017 and wound up on the wrong side of a majority decision against Tomoharu Umezawa in May 2018.
4. He has a preferred mode of operation.
Operating out of the STF camp in Fujimi, Japan, Minowa has delivered eight of his 13 pro victories by submission. All but one of them have involved the neck. The lone outlier? He disposed of Komaki with a keylock in their first encounter at Shooto Gig Tokyo 22 on Oct. 16, 2016, forcing the tapout 3:48 into the second round. Minowa’s resume includes six other wins by rear-naked choke and another via guillotine.
5. His employer carries him in high regard.
Minowa currently finds himself as the No. 3-ranked strawweight in One Championship. Positioned behind Brooks and Masunyane, he sits ahead of Gustavo Balart and the aforementioned Saruta. All five men have joined the line behind reigning champion Joshua Pacio.