"I couldn't kick properly" - Superlek says early injury forced him to adapt and sharpen knee strikes

Superlek Kiatmoo9 [left] faced Takeru Segawa [right] at ONE 165 earlier this year

ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion Superlek Kiatmoo9 has one of the most specific nicknames in the sport today: 'The Kicking Machine'. It's almost as if he's telling his opponents what to prepare for once they enter the ring with him. And yet, not a lot can stop the ONE flyweight kickboxing king's kicking barrage.

However, there was a time when 'The Kicking Machine' was too injured to even kick. In an interview with JSL Global Media on YouTube, Superlek spoke about the time when he had to rely on his other weapons to deal with a serious injury:

"My style is Muay-Kao (knees) but before that I'm technical (Muay-Femur). But I hurt my leg, so I couldn't kick properly. I needed to use my knees instead until my leg was healed [that] I switched back to technical style again."

The Thai superstar is such a dangerous kicker that almost everybody forgets that he has a full arsenal of weapons at his disposal. His knockouts of Walter Goncalves, Danial Williams, Nabil Anane and Tagir Khalilov all came by way of either punches or elbows.

Watch the full interview here:

Superlek's knee strikes made a huge difference in win over Takeru Segawa at ONE 165

Speaking of Superlek's knee strikes, they played a huge role in his successful world title defense against Japanese superstar Takeru Segawa at ONE 165 in Tokyo, Japan earlier this year. While 'The Kicking Machine' pulverized his foe with thunderous kicks to the body and legs, it was his stepping knees late in the fight that arguably swung the tides in his favor.

Here's a video highlight of his stepping knees against Takeru:

As someone known to specialize in kicks, not a lot would expect 'The Kicking Machine' to step inside clinch range to land knee strikes. After spending the first 15 minutes of their back-and-forth brawl peppering Takeru with kicks and punches, the defending world champion switched things up and started blasting knee strikes.

This largely stopped Takeru's advance and sealed the judges' decision in Superlek's favor after the final bell rang.