Takeru says head kick KO in Paris ‘never’ crossed his mind

Ahead of his long-awaited debut in ONE Championship, Takeru Segawa regained his love for martial arts in his last fight outside the world’s largest martial arts organization.

Making a huge name for himself in his native Japan with all of his success in kickboxing, the 31-year-old took himself out of his comfort zone for his most recent contest.

Falling in love with competition all over again, the former three-division K-1 world champion traveled to Paris, France, to take on Bailey Sugden in front of a crowd that hadn’t seen him compete.

Whilst he provided the French fans with a new experience watching him in the flesh, it was something new for the kickboxing star also, traveling to a new country to put on a show and that’s exactly what he did.

On top of the experience of fighting in France, which Takeru stated helped to bring back the excitement of stepping inside the ring all over again, the fight itself provided some first-time experiences also.

Despite all of the Japanese star's fights and incredible accomplishments, he has never finished an opponent with a head kick.

Making a statement before his arrival in ONE Championship, the promotion’s latest big signing spoke about what it meant to finish his opponent in this fashion before he steps inside the circle for the first time.

“Never [have I knocked out someone with a head kick]. I have been doing karate since I was young, and I have also done kickboxing and Muay Thai, but I have never even taken someone down with a high kick. I was able to showcase it because it was a 5-round fight. If it were a 3-round fight, I wouldn't have needed to use it, but going up to 5 rounds, the opponent also starts to read your attacks, so it was a good harvest to realize that I could finish the fight with this pattern.”