“I tried to push myself” - Takeru admits he did his best to regain footing after being crumbled by Rodtang in 80 seconds

Takeru Segawa may have fallen short at ONE 172. Still, the Japanese kickboxing icon admits that he tried his best to continue fighting after being dropped by Rodtang Jitmuangnon's missile-like punch inside the Saitama Super Arena.

'Natural Born Krusher's' wish to go toe-to-toe with one of the planet's best strikers today was granted when the world's largest martial arts organization descended upon the legendary venue for the first time last Sunday, March 23.

Unfortunately, his dreams to dazzle and impress his hometown fans came to a screeching halt at the 80-second mark. After briefly finding his rhythm, the former three-division K-1 champion absorbed a fully loaded fist from 'The Iron Man' that dropped him to the canvas.

Though he looked to be okay, gaining consciousness almost instantly, he just simply could not find his feet in time to answer the referee's eight-count, which resulted in a knockout win for Rodtang.

Takeru addressed what went on his mind during that exact moment during the ONE 172 post-event press conference, saying:

"I was waiting to recover, but then, at that time, I tried to push myself hard to stand up. But then I can’t say what was going to happen. It was really hard to explain. I can just say that I was weak."

His defeat in Saitama left him with one victory and two defeats on the global stage. The 33-year-old debuted in a unanimous decision loss to Superlek Kiatmoo9 before bouncing back in the winner's column with a second-round knockout of Thant Zin.

Watch the full post-event presser here:

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Takeru brushes off retirement talk following ONE 172 defeat

Takeru shut down talks about hanging his gloves for good in the same presser with the media in attendance at ONE 172:

"I’m not sure if I had shown enough of everything I prepared. So, at this moment, it’s not the right time to think or decide what to do next. Another time, I’d like to announce officially," he shared.

'Natural Born Krusher' told various outlets that having a final fight against someone of Rodtang's caliber would be a dream sendoff in the lead-up to the blockbuster card.

Perhaps the manner of the defeat has changed his mind.

Would you like to see Takeru run it back with Rodtang? Let us know below!

Catch the entire ONE 172 event via replay at watch.onefc.com.