“I’m fired up” - Japanese legend Takeru Segawa getting closer to peak fight shape ahead of ONE debut

When former three-division K-1 world champion Takeru Segawa signed an exclusive multi-fight contract with ONE Championship in April 2023, he knew that the competition would be tougher since the promotion houses the best strikers in combat sports today.

But that didn’t stop Takeru from honing and sharpening his skills, as he went on a three-week mini-camp at Boxing Works in California last November. During his stay on American soil, he was able to work on the different aspects of his arsenal.

After wrapping up his U.S. training, his highly anticipated match in the world’s largest martial arts organization was announced in mid-December 2023, as he’ll be headlining ONE 165 on January 28, 2024, inside the Ariake Arena in Tokyo.

Originally, he was supposed to throw down reigning ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon in a five-round kickboxing super fight. Due to the injury that ‘The Iron Man’ sustained during training, he was forced out of the fight.

Fortunately, ONE has replaced his opponent with an equally impressive opponent, as Superlek Kiatmoo9 gladly stepped up to the plate and will stake his ONE flyweight kickboxing world title against Takeru.

With the looming ONE debut fast approaching, the 32-year-old Japanese superstar is now inching closer to his full fight form. He gave an update on his Instagram account about his current state in camp by captioning his post with (as translated to English):

“Today I dropped to close to my contract weight. Dry practice for ONE's hydration test. I'll have to slow it down a bit for the actual performance, but it feels good. Three and a half weeks left, I'm fired up.”

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Takeru Segawa wants to add ONE flyweight kickboxing world title to his collection with win against Superlek

After dominating and leaving a path of destruction in K-1 during his six-year run there, Takeru is now ready to conquer the flyweight division of ONE Championship with a massive victory against the division’s kickboxing world titleholder.

If he gets the job done against ‘The Kicking Machine', it will not only be the perfect debut for him by winning in front of his home fans in Tokyo, but it will also be the perfect start for his bid to replicate his achievement of becoming a multiple-division world champion.