“The belt is still with me” – Superlek proud to bring championship gold back to where it belongs in Thailand

Superlek Kiatmoo9’s performance against K-1 kickboxing legend Takeru Segawa at ONE 165 scored him another successful world title defense on his record and a $50,000 performance bonus.

Riding into enemy territory on a nine-fight win streak, ‘The Kicking Machine’ faced the tough task of welcoming one of the pound-for-pound greatest kickboxers on the planet to ONE Championship. After five epic rounds of brutal back-and-forth action, Superlek’s hand was raised, revealing him as the winner via unanimous decision.

For his spectacular performance, the Thai received a $50,000 bonus courtesy of ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong.

Speaking with Mitch Chilson immediately following the contest, ‘The Kicking Machine’ was happy to leave Tokyo with the win and ready to return to Thailand where he will continue to defend his crown against the best of the best.

“Thank you to Khun Chatri for that bonus,” he said. “I feel very glad right now. The belt is still with me and I’m bringing this belt to Thailand against the top fighters in the world. I’ll bring this to Thailand and keep training.”

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Is dual bantamweight champ Jonathan Haggerty next for Superlek?

With another big win on his resume, there is a world of options for Superlek inside the Circle. ‘The Kicking Machine’ kept the door open for rematches against Takeru and fellow flyweight titleholder Rodtang Jitmuangnon, who he faced in ONE’s Muay Thai Fight of the Year last September. But it looks as though a move to bantamweight may be in Superlek’s future.

Currently, the bantamweight Muay Thai and kickboxing world championships reside with the same fighter, Jonathan Haggerty. ‘The General’ earned back-to-back knockouts of Nong-O Hama and Fabricio Andrade in his last two outings. Perhaps we’ll see the British striking sensation attempt to add another legend to his hit list in 2024.

Would you like to see Superlek move up to challenge Jonathan Haggerty for one of his two world titles?

If you missed any of the action or want to relive an epic night in ONE Championship history, the ONE 165 replay can be watched on demand via watch.onefc.com.