Denis Puric believes Rodtang’s ‘super calm’ ways will be a nuisance to Takeru at ONE 172: “It’s hard to catch him”

Denis Puric believes' Rodtang's 'super calm' demeanor inside the Circle could frustrate Japanese kickboxing star Takeru Segawa.

On Sunday, March 23, ONE Championship will head to the legendary Saitama Super Arena in Japan for one of the biggest fight cards of the year, ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang.

In the evening's main event, 'The Iron Man' will strap on a pair of eight-ounce gloves for a clash with the former three-division K-1 champion in a superfight that fans have been clamoring for years.

As the last man to face Rodtang in a kickboxing bout, Puric believes 'The Iron Man' could pose a lot of problems for Takeru when the two tussle in The Land of the Rising Sun.

Puric told Sportskeeda MMA in an exclusive interview:

"The way that he fought with me in the first round was not the same as the second round...He has to keep that 1st round pace up, like the way he was moving in and out. If he can do that throughout the fight with Takeru, it’s going to be a problem, for sure because it's hard to catch him.

He added:

"He sees f***ing everything, and he's so calm all the time. And it's easy to respond when you're when you're super calm like that."

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Rodtang and Takeru are both carrying momentum into their history-making showdown at ONE 172

It will be Rodtang's first time competing inside the Circle since scoring a dominant unanimous decision victory over Jacob Smith at ONE 169 in November.

When he returns to martial arts' biggest global stage at ONE 172, it will be just his fourth time competing in kickboxing competing under the ONE Championship banner. Thus far, he is unbeaten in the sport with wins over Tagir Khalilov, Jiduo Yibu, and the aforementioned Denis Puric.

As for Takeru, 'The Natural Born Crusher' goes into the biggest fight of his career fresh off an impressive come-from-behind KO against Thant Zin at ONE Friday Fights 81.

It was Takeru's 44th career victory and his 26th win by way of knockout.

Who comes out on top when two of the best pound-for-pound strikers on the planet collide?

ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang will emanate from the Saitama Super Arena in Japan on Sunday, March 23. Head over to watch.onefc.com to learn more about how you can watch the event live.