WATCH: Thai megastar Superlek’s calculated dissection of Japanese icon Takeru during world title classic in Tokyo

Marquee matchups always bring the best out of a fighter, and for someone with the resume of Superlek Kiatmoo9, he has consistently lived up to the billing of a world-class athlete.

Since joining ONE Championship in 2019, ‘The Kicking Machine’ has been a near-unstoppable force of nature with 14 wins, eight of them coming by way of a unanimous decision alongside four finishes.

The ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion’s toughest challenge came on January 28 at ONE 165 in the form of Japanese kickboxing megastar Takeru Segawa.

The tension between both fighters was extremely palpable ahead of the event with ONE world championship gold on the line, though Takeru felt the brunt of it as he was fighting in front of his countrymen.

Despite ‘The Natural Born Crusher’ giving it his all against Superlek, the Thai star’s decision to focus on letting the action come to him worked out greatly as he stifled Takeru’s attempts at an offense and severely limited his movement by consistently attacking his lead leg.

When it was all said and done, judges awarded the unanimous decision win to Superlek and extended his winning streak to eight fights, two of which were in defense of the ONE flyweight kickboxing world title.

---

Superlek hailed as "best pound-for-pound" fighter by ONE Championship star

There is no doubt that the Kiatmoo9 Gym product is on top of the kickboxing world after his five-round dissection of Takeru. With that, he has earned the highest respect of English Muay Thai icon Liam Harrison.

In the eyes of ‘The Hitman’, Superlek’s performance was “absolutely ridiculous." The Brit pointed out that he was "probably pound-for-pound the best fighter” in the world.

At 28 years old, Superlek is nowhere near the end of his prime and ONE Championship fans can expect to see even more out of him in his next fight.