Superlek ONE 172: "What a monster and true champion" - Fans feel the pain Superlek Kiatmoo9 delivered against Tagir Khalilov in heated matchup

ONE bantamweight Muay Thai and flyweight kickboxing world champion Superlek Kiatmoo9 showed how important respect is to him in his July 2023 destruction of Tagir Khalilov.

Superlek made 'Samingpri' pay for his dismissive attitude in the lead-up to their bout by battering him with elbows, which opened a cut under his right eye in round one. The referee stopped the bout at the 1:42 mark of the second frame after seeing Khalilov have no answer for Superlek's unrelenting onslaught.

Check out the fight below, which ONE shared on YouTube:

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Fans were amazed at Superlek's performance and shared their thoughts in the comments section:

"When you f*** around with words and find out with 46 elbows to the face."

"Love his aggressive style. What a monster and true champion."

"This is the fight that put Superlek on the top spot of my favourite fighters. Rodtang might be the most favourite MT fighter for the majority of the audiences in ONE, but he's an entertainer who likes to put on a show for the crowd. SPL is just ruthless, no-nonsense kind of fighter, he's going straight for the kill if he sees any chances."

"Ref stopped it too soon, should have let it go longer, I was enjoying those elbows."

"This version of Superlek just won me over, what a freaking killer. Pure savage in the ring man. Hopefully, he could be like this every fight, just his opponent has to hit the nerve tho 😅

Screenshot of comments. [ONE Championship/YouTube]

Superlek to star in a unification bout at ONE 172

'The Kicking Machine' will face ONE interim bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Nabil Anane in a unification bout at ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang on March 23 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

The 29-year-old spoiled the towering Thai-Algerian's promotional debut in June 2023 with a one-punch knockout.

However, Anane has since logged three finishes in six victories. His most recent outing was a first-round TKO of Nico Carrillo this past January to claim the interim crown.

ONE 172 will be available via watch.onefc.com.

About the author

Karl has been an MMA writer at Sportskeeda since 2023. He holds a Bachelor of Arts major in history, which helps him pay attention to the finer details while writing, and also has first-hand experience in boxing. He has a total experience of 5 years, and has worked for the International Business Times.

Karl turned into an MMA fan back in 2011 after watching Tito Ortiz defeat Ryan Bader via first-round submission at UFC 132. He has interviewed ONE world champions like Eduard Folayang, Joshua Pacio, Stamp Fairtex, and Tawanchai in his career so far.

On the non-MMA side of things, he interviewed WWE superstar Matt Riddle in 2021 and his question about Roman Reigns elicited an interesting answer which was widely covered by outlets like Sportskeeda and Cultaholic Wrestling's YouTube channel. He has also interviewed NBA stars Dwight Howard, Nick Young, Andre Roberson, Shabazz Muhammad, Jason Williams and Brian Scalabrine plus Filipino women's volleyball star Alyssa Valdez.

Karl ensures to double-check facts before using them in articles, and reads up on potential topics for pieces a day before. In his off time, he likes to play video games, and keep up with basketball and pro wrestling.

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Edited by C. Naik