“There’s no surprises” – Superlek knew he was in for a hard battle against ‘top fighter’ Takeru at ONE 165

Superlek Kiatmoo9 was very impressed with the performance of K-1 legend Takeru Segawa.

‘The Kicking Machine’ stepped into the ring for the first time in 2024 to put his ONE flyweight kickboxing world championship against Takeru, who was making his long-awaited first appearance with the promotion. Given his kickboxing experience and home-field advantage, many fight fans had ‘The Natural Born Crusher’ dubbed as the favorite going into the contest.

Five rounds later, Superlek emerged victorious, scoring a decisive unanimous decision victory to retain his world title and add another living legend to his ever-growing hit list.

Speaking with Mitch Chilson immediately following the decision verdict, the Thai showed immense respect for his opponent, saying:

“There’s no surprises. I know that Takeru is a very strong fighter, very durable, and can keep up and keep coming at me. There’s no surprise, that’s why he’s the top fighter in the world.”

Superlek extended his undefeated streak to nine, including wins over Danial William and ‘The Iron Man’ Rodtang, among others.

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Superlek used his “fighting spirit” to make it out of a rough third round at ONE 165

Though Superlek left Ariake Arena in Tokyo with his world title intact, he found himself in a bit of trouble near the halfway point of the early Fight of the Year contender.

“It was at the end of the third round, he added. “I took that shot from Takeru and my body literally froze and the only thing that I thought in my head was that I have to have a fighting spirit, I have to do whatever it takes to survive on the third round and continue fighting on the fourth round.”

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.