“Hell of a fighter” - Fans already anticipating Takeru’s return to action, drum up potential fights for Japanese icon

ONE 165 on January 28 proved to be a great night of fights for ONE Championship, as fighters made the most out of their opportunities to show why they deserved to be in the spots that they are in on the card.

The main event was a bonafide cannot-miss bout and saw Superlek Kiatmoo9 defended his ONE flyweight kickboxing world championship against the debuting Takeru Segawa.

Pressure was felt on both sides. It marked Takeru’s promotional debut, while Superlek stepped in on short notice for an injured Rodtang Jitmuangnon and was facing one of the most dangerous strikers in kickboxing today.

Despite the loss, Takeru earned himself a whole host of new fans thanks to his unwavering spirit and fans made it known who they want to see him fight next on ONE Championship’s latest Instagram post:

“Hell of a fighter. Lost against Superlek but he was still explosive. He’s a good fight for anyone in his weight range. I’d love to see him go against Rodtang.”

“Rodtang obviously, the fight we were supposed to get”

However, another fan proposed that ‘The Natural Born Crusher’ should take a warm-up fight first before taking on Rodtang:

“An easier fight, Elias [Mahmoudi] or Tagir [Khalilov], then Rodtang”

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Japanese kickboxing legend consoles disappointed Takeru

Takeru was on the receiving end of some stinging leg kicks at the hands of Superlek and was unable to walk on his own power.

Fans only knew of how serious the damage was thanks to a social media update from the Japanese star.

As he was being wheeled out of the Ariake Arena, Takeru was approached by Japanese kickboxing legend Masato Kobayashi, offering him words of wisdom and even training together once he is ready to do so.