Chatri Sityodtong says Japanese superstar Takeru Segawa will be “fighting immediately” in an upcoming ONE event

ONE Championship CEO and founder Chatri Sityodtong revealed that Japanese kickboxing legend Takeru Segawa will be making his first appearance inside the circle very soon.

In April, the promotion announced that they had signed the former three-division K-1 world champion. Since then, fight fans have been waiting with bated breath to find out when, and more importantly, who Takeru would be facing in his promotional debut. Six months later, we still don’t have an answer, but according to Sityodtong, news of Takeru’s first fight ONE will be coming soon:

“He’s gonna be fighting immediately,” Sityodgong told the South China Morning Post. “I’m gonna make an announcement. Hopefully the next two weeks. We have a few big events planned outside of Thailand, and outside of Singapore.”

Watch the full interview below:

A vast majority of ONE Championship’s 2023 events have taken place inside the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, including this Friday night’s ONE Fight Night 15 event, but the promotion is ready to take its show on the road once again with dates in both the United States and Qatar being previously teased.

At this point, there is only speculation when it comes to when and where Takeru will make his promotional debut, but ONE’s debut in Qatar is a very likely candidate.

For those unfamiliar, 32-year-old Takeru Segawa is one of the most decorated kickboxers in the history of the sport. Primarily competing under the K-1 banner in his native Japan, the ‘Natural Born Crusher’ is a former feather, super featherweight, and super bantamweight world champion with the promotion and holds the distinction of being the only fighter in K-1 history to claim three titles in three different weight classes.

Throughout his run, fans have often fantasized about a showdown between K-1’s Takeru and ONE Championship’s Muay Thai monster Rodtang Jitmuangnon. With both of them now under contract with ONE, it’s entirely possible that Takeru’s first scrap inside the circle could come against ‘The Iron Man.’

Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America can catch all the action at ONE Fight Night 15 live and for free in U.S. primetime on October 6.