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When Dom Lau announced that Superlek Kiatmoo9 had retained his ONE flyweight kickboxing world title during the main event of ONE 165 inside the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan, Takeru Segawa was immediately brought to tears.
The Japanese superstar was visibly upset by the result, as he came up short of winning the 26-pound golden belt in front of his compatriots inside the sold-out crowd.
This moment was captured ringside, and the former three-division K-1 world champion posted it on his official Instagram account. Takeru’s caption was filled with gratitude for the support he received and an apology, as he wrote: (as translated into English)
“Everyone who supported me, I'm really thankful to you. I'm sorry that I couldn't show you how to win. But I've done everything I could these past few months. Everyone who gathered at the venue and everyone who watched on PPV, everyone who was involved in this tournament, I'm really thankful to you.”
Superlek’s technical approach and powerful kicks were too much for Takeru to handle, as he was on the receiving end of a masterpiece authored by the defending world champion. Although he had his own moments during the fight, especially in the dying seconds of the third round.
During that sequence, ‘The Natural Born Crusher’ hurt ‘The Kicking Machine’ with a punch to his body that stunned him. Takeru took advantage and unloaded a barrage of punches on Superlek’s head; however, Superlek survived to the end of the round and cruised his way into the unanimous decision victory.
Takeru suffered an injury to his left leg during his ONE Championship debut against Superlek
His first defeat under the world’s largest martial arts organization wasn’t the only thing that Takeru received after his world title fight with Superlek; he also sustained an injury to his left leg that looked like raw hamburger meat.
This damage was caused by the 28-year-old Thai superstar’s punishing leg kicks that landed on Takeru's left leg throughout the fight. It was also one of the main reasons why the challenger failed to fire more combinations during the match as he couldn’t fully generate enough power.
