“I want to show the strength of Japanese fighters” - Takeru Segawa represents his home country on global stage in ONE

Kickboxing legend Takeru Segawa is a proud Japanese fighter and wants to represent his roots on the global stage the best way he can in ONE Championship.

Following years of establishing a solid career at K-1, 'The Natural Born Crusher' made the jump to ONE last year and made his promotional debut back in January. The move, he said, was to take his already-illustrious career to an even higher plane and test his skills against the top fighters in the world.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Takeru Segawa spoke about his motivation as he establishes his footing in the "Home of Martial Arts," saying:

"I want to achieve results on the ONE stage as a representative of Japan, [fellow Japanese fighter Hiroki] Akimoto has already become a ONE world champion once, but I want to show the strength of Japanese fighters in ONE as a Japanese representative."

Unfortunately for Takeru, in his ONE debut in January he fell by unanimous decision to ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion Superlek Kiatmoo9 in their title clash in Japan.

It is a defeat that the Yonago City native is looking to redeem himself from when he returns to action this week at ONE Friday Fights 81: Superbon vs. Nattawut at the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, against Myanmar's Thant Zin.

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Takeru Segawa enters ONE Friday Fights 81 with a sense of urgency

Following his defeat in his ONE Championship debut earlier this year, Takeru Segawa said that his second outing at ONE Friday Fights 81 on Sept. 27 is a must-win affair and he is entering it with a sense of urgency.

The 33-year-old Japanese kickboxing legend said that his showdown against Myanmar's Thant Zin is crucial in his push to straighten out his push in the promotion, requiring a needed victory.

He told ONE Championship in an interview:

"I joined ONE to aim for being the strongest in the world, so I really want this win. To fight at the top, I absolutely can't lose two in a row after losing the last one."

At ONE Friday Fights 81, Takeru is up against an emerging striking force in Thant Zin, winner of his first two fights in ONE Championship, which both came by way of knockout.

Fans in North America can catch the action at ONE Friday Fights 81 via global pay-per-view through watch.onefc.com. For more information on it, visit the ONE Championship website.