Born and raised in Japan, Hirota experienced success as an amateur boxer and sumo, winning All-Japan titles in both disciplines.
Hirota then faced Takashi Nakakura for the newly vacated Shooto Pacific Rim Welterweight Championship.
Hirota then signed with Cage Force, and in his debut, knocked out his opponent 16 seconds into the fight before getting another win via TKO.
He was then eliminated from the tournament in the semi-finals after losing by unanimous decision against Kazunori Yokota at World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 6 in November the same year.
[4] In February 2009 he defended his Cage Force title when he fought to a draw with multiple-time King of Pancrase, Katsuya Inoue, and in May 2009 he defeated PRIDE veteran Mitsuhiro Ishida by knockout at Shooto Tradition Final.
[7] On March 7, 2010, Hirota announced during Sengoku 12 that he would be vacating his belt due to his injuries sustained at Dynamite!!
[8] A year after he officially vacated his Sengoku Lightweight Championship belt, Hirota began fighting for DEEP.
Strikeforce commentator and former UFC Middleweight Champion Pat Miletich stated the decision was affected by the home town favoring their own fighter.
Hirota was next scheduled to face Jorge Gurgel on September 29, 2012, but the event was cancelled before the company ceased operations.
In June 2015, Hirota was announced as one of the eight featherweights competing on Road to UFC: Japan, a show in the style of The Ultimate Fighter.
[15][16] In turn, the fight was rescheduled and eventually took place on December 17, 2016, at UFC on Fox 22[17] Hirota won the bout by unanimous decision.