Tatsumitsu Wada vs. Wei Xie Prediction: A battle of experience and age

In the early hours of Saturday at the Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, the bout between Tatsumitsu Wada and Wei Xie will take place. The flyweight division match is scheduled as the fifth fight in the 11 main card events, with a weight class of 135 lbs (61.2 kg). MMA fans around the world can keep tabs on the action in the cage via Prime.

Tatsumitsu Wada enters the cage with the most experience, with a professional career of 25 wins, 12 losses, and 2 draws. In the one-fight championship, he has a record of five wins and five losses, which were mostly decided by decision. He has been inconsistent in his last 10 fights, not recording a straight three wins and losing to the likes of Demetrious Johnson, Danny Kingad, Yodkaikaew Fairtex, Kairat Akhmetov, and Reece McLaren. He won the DEEP Flyweight Championship against Makoto Shinryu in 2018 via an unanimous decision. The title was first vacant in 2016, in which Wada won against Yuya Shibata. In 2012, he first challenged for a title (the DEEP Bantamweight Championship) and lost to Yoshiro Maeda. Wada`s first title win was via a majority decision against Yuki Motoya.

Wei Xie is currently on a two-loss streak and will be seeking a new face in this bout. Those losses were to Yuya Wakamatsu and Reece McLaren. He last fought on July 14, 2023, in the ONE Champions event. He joined one championship event in 2019 and has fought 11 times, winning eight via knockout. His other losses were to Hui Liang via decision, Mohammed Magomedov in Round 3, Toshinori Tsunemura via unanimous decision, and Danny Kingad via unanimous decision. Xie put up a great show against Kantharaj Agasa in 2021, winning the match via doctor stoppage intervention in the second round. He does not have a championship title yet but has won against top fighters such as Rakhmat, Pengshuai Liu, Yeerruer Shalawujiang, Peng Li, Boqie Zheng, Fuchong Yang, Rockie Bactol, and Jinbo Zou. 

This fight is purely a conflict over the age gap and number of matches. Wei Xie is at a younger age with full strength in his jabs. Although Wada has Wada has a significant arm reach disadvantage, hehe will be looking to bring the fight close to the center and close up spaces. He also needs this win to remove doubt about his ability and help the fans. Wada has the advantage due to his current form. I expect this bout to drag on till the end, as both fighters will be putting up an incredible show. I believe Wei Xie is the hungrier in this match and should get it via decision rather than knocking the 35-year-old Wada out.