“I’ll try to beat him decisively” – Takeru wants to get Superlek out of the way before fight against Rodtang takes place

K-1 kickboxing legend Takeru Segawa will look to score a decisive win over Superlek Kiatmoo9 before looking to rebook his previously scheduled scrap with ‘The Iron Man’ Rodtang Jitmuangnon.

ONE Championship returns to The Land of the Rising Sun on Sunday, January 28, for ONE 165. Emanating from Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan, Takeru will have the home-field advantage when he meets reigning and defending ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion Superlek in the main event of the evening.

Originally, the ‘Natural Born Crusher’ was expected to throw hands with Rodtang inside the Circle, but ‘The Iron Man’ was forced to withdraw due to an injury, paving the way for Superlek to step in and welcome the former three-division K-1 champion to ONE.

Speaking with the promotion, Takeru revealed he is feeling a bit nervous ahead of his long-awaited promotional debut but is confident that he’ll get the win and eventually step inside the cage with Rodtang.

“I guess I’m a little nervous heading into this fight,” he admitted. “But at the same time, I’m really focused on the fight, too. I’ll start with Superlek, I’ll try to beat him decisively and then I’ll look at that fight again [vs. Rodtang].”

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Superlek could leap to the top of P4P lists with a win over Takeru

After securing five impressive wins in 2023, Superlek is jumping right back into action in 2024. Closing out his incredible year, ‘The Kicking Machine’ scored a unanimous decision victory against Rodtang in what many called the greatest Muay Thai fight of the last 50 years.

If Superlek can follow that up with a win over Takeru, the man many consider to be the pound-for-pound greatest kickboxer in the world, it will go a long way in solidifying him as the P4P king of both kickboxing and the art of eight limbs.

ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru airs live on Sunday, January 28, and will be available via global pay-per-view at watch.onefc.com.