WATCH: The dramatic path that led to Superlek’s super fight against Takeru at ONE 165 in Tokyo

The story behind the upcoming mega showdown between defending world champion Superlek Kiatmoo9 and challenger Takeru Segawa is like a rip-off from a cinematic movie script.

The pair are slated to do battle for the ONE flyweight kickboxing world title on January 28 at ONE 165. The event will go down inside the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.

Its full timeline and the unexpected turn of events were perfectly summarized in a recent post that ONE Championship uploaded to Instagram, which is captioned:

“'The Kicking Machine' is here to make a STATEMENT 🔥 What’s your bold prediction for his ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Title defense against Takeru at ONE 165? @superlek789”

First, Superlek scored a massive victory against fellow Thai superstar and reigning ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon in the main event of ONE Friday Fights 34 in September 2023, which prompted ‘The Iron Man’ to seek redemption through a match with Japanese star Takeru Segawa.

Rodtang and Takeru were the original headliners for the historic comeback of the world’s largest martial arts organization to Japan on January 28 for ONE 165. However, due to the injury that the former suffered, the latter was left hanging with no confirmed opponent.

Fortunately, Superlek stepped up to the plate and postponed his match with Elias Mahmoudi at ONE Friday Fights 18 on January 12 to make way for a bigger bout with the Japanese sensation. ‘The Kicking Machine’ not only accepted this huge fight on three weeks' notice but is also putting his world title on the line.

Now, there are only a few days left before the two will exchange strikes inside the ring, and fans all over the world are hyped up about it.

---

Superlek plans to slow down Takeru and neutralize his speed advantage with leg kicks

In a recent interview with ONE Championship ahead of their world title showdown, Superlek revealed one of his primary fight plans of slowing down the aggression, forward pressure, and speed advantage of Takeru during their match.

The Kiatmoo9 Gym representative wants to fully maximize his leg kicks and prove why he earned his fight moniker of ‘The Kicking Machine'.

It is not the first time that Superlek is facing an offensive-minded opponent, and he has found success in dealing with such a fighting approach, as what he did against Rodtang during his previous outing.

ONE 165 is available on pay-per-view at watch.onefc.com.