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Fans have voted Superlek Kiatmoo9 as the overwhelming favorite heading into his kickboxing super-fight against Takeru Segawa.
On Sunday, Jan. 28, ONE Championship will travel to the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan, for a stacked pay-per-view event. In the main event, Japanese kickboxing superstar Takeru will make his promotional debut after signing with ONE in early 2023.
Takeru was initially scheduled to fight Rodtang Jitmuangnon in a non-title kickboxing bout. Unfortunately, Rodtang was forced to pull out with an injury, leading to ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion Superlek stepping in and putting his world title on the line.
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Less than a week before ONE 165, the promotion shared the final results on Instagram of a fan poll asking about Superlek vs. Takeru, where 68% of people picked the former to emerge victorious. The social media post was captioned:
“Ready to BRING THE HEAT 🔥 Don’t miss the epic ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Title bout between Superlek and Takeru at ONE 165! Who’s amped up? 🤩 @superlek789 @k1takeru”
Takeru Segawa plans to challenge Rodtang Jitmuangnon after defeating Superlek Kiatmoo9
Superlek Kiatmoo9’s world title has added stakes to Takeru Segawa’s highly-anticipated ONE Championship debut. With that said, many fans were disappointed that the Japanese superstar wouldn’t fight, arguably, the promotion’s biggest superstar, Rodtang Jitmuangnon.
Luckily, those wanting to see Rodtang vs. Takeru could have their wish come true. During an interview with ONE, ‘The Natural Born Crusher’ had this to say about his plans to defeat Superlek and then reschedule his fight against ‘The Iron Man’:
“I’ll start with Superlek. I’ll beat him decisively and then I’ll look for that fight [vs. Rodtang] again.”
In 2023, Superlek had arguably the most successful calendar year in the promotion. ‘The Kicking Machine’ became the ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion, defended his throne, secured back-to-back Muay Thai knockouts, and defeated Rodtang in a Muay Thai super-fight.
The question is, can Superlek begin 2024 with a legacy-defining win against Takeru Segawa? The answer will be revealed at ONE 165 on Sunday.
