“He’s been calling for me” - Rodtang says it’s finally time for Takeru to walk the talk at ONE 172

Rodtang is "glad" that a superstar of Takeru Segawa's magnitude has called him out several times.

In 2023, ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced Takeru had signed with the promotion.

Since then, fans have continuously called for the Japanese legend to take on Thai superstar Rodtang in an action-packed battle.

On March 23, the world-class strikers will compete in a non-title flyweight kickboxing bout in the ONE 172 main event.

During an interview with the promotion, 'The Iron Man' had this to say about Takeru calling him out in the past:

"Since Takeru got into ONE, he’s been calling for me. I’m glad that a superstar like Takeru demands and wants to fight with me since he got into ONE."

ONE 172 goes down inside the Saitama Super Arena in Takeru Segawa's home country of Japan.

'The Natural Born Krusher' will be joined by fellow Japanese fighters Masaaki Noiri, Yuya Wakamatsu, Kana Morimoto, Kaito Ono, Nadaka Yoshinari, Shinya Aoki, Hiroki Akimoto, Shimon Yoshinari, Hyu Iwata, and Ryusei Kumagai.

Takeru enters the highly anticipated main event following his first promotional win, a second-round knockout against Thant Zin.

Rodtang also has momentum after winning his last fight, a unanimous decision against Jacob Smith in Muay Thai.

Unfortunately, 'The Iron Man' missed weight for his bout against Smith, forcing him to vacate his ONE flyweight Muay Thai world title.

---

Takeru and Rodtang were initially supposed to fight in January 2024

Takeru Segawa made his ONE Championship debut in January 2024, initially scheduled to fight Rodtang in kickboxing.

'The Iron Man' was forced to pull out due to an injury, leading to Superlek stepping in and putting his ONE flyweight kickboxing world title on the line.

Superlek emerged victorious by unanimous decision in an epic battle against Takeru in the ONE 165 main event.

With a win at ONE 172, Takeru could potentially set himself up for a rematch with Superlek later this year.

The Thai megastar has similar intentions after suffering a unanimous decision Muay Thai loss against Superlek in September 2023.

Superlek will also be featured at ONE 172 in a bantamweight Muay Thai world title unification bout against Nabil Anane.