“You were on fire” - Japanese kickboxing icon Masato consoles Takeru Segawa following heartbreaking defeat to Superlek in Tokyo

Japanese kickboxing megastar Takeru Segawa finally made his ONE Championship debut this past Sunday, January 28, at ONE 165 against Superlek Kiatmoo9.

With Superlek’s ONE flyweight kickboxing world championship up for grabs, Takeru was faced with a golden opportunity to explode onto the scene.

In what has since been described as an early fight of the year candidate by the promotion’s fans, Superlek and ‘The Natural Born Crusher’ battled it out in the ultra-competitive matchup, but it was Superlek who left with the victory.

An almost inconsolable Takeru repeatedly apologized inside the ONE ring, and kickboxing legend Masato Kobayashi imparted the following words to him after:

“It was a great fight. It was fun to watch. Super fun! It was a great fight! You were on fire!”

Takeru responded:

“No… Really? That makes me happy to hear. I’m very happy. “

Masato then said:

“That third round, he was really hurt. It was incredible.”

A tearful Takeru replied:

“I’m so disappointed.”

Then, Masato left him with some words of wisdom:

“You’re still going to get stronger. We’ll talk again about training. Hang in there. It was fun. Great fight. The cheering was crazy! Good work.”

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Takeru reveals ‘torn muscle’ injury after ONE 165 defeat

The Japanese megastar earned himself a ton of supporters after displaying incredible heart against ‘The Kicking Machine’, but his return will take some time.

After the bout, Takeru revealed that he was brought to the hospital and later admitted that he “could not walk on his own,” hence the need for a wheelchair after tearing a muscle in his thigh.

Hopes are high for a Takeru comeback to take place sometime within the year, and it very well could be against ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon - his original opponent for ONE 165.