“It was exciting” - Superlek Kiatmoo9 admits he was hyped to rework his style when he first arrived at ONE Championship

It's undeniable that Superlek Kiatmoo9 was already a force the moment he arrived in ONE Championship, but the reigning two-sport world champion admitted he had to adjust to the promotion's style.

Superlek revealed in an interview with Nicknachat that he was excited to rework his boxing style when he joined the promotion in 2019.

While he dominated the revered stadiums in Thailand using the heavier 10-ounce boxing-style gloves, Superlek now had to use the lighter 4-ounce MMA gloves in ONE Championship.

Superlek Kiatmoo9 said:

"No. I didn’t know anyone [in the promotion, yet]. After the team contacted me, I studied the boxing style with [small] gloves because I never fought in small gloves, but it was exciting."

That change in style ultimately led to Superlek becoming possibly the greatest modern-day striker.

Superlek amassed an impressive 15-1 record and two world titles in ONE Championship.

'The Kicking Machine' first captured the vacant ONE flyweight kickboxing world title against Daniel Puertas in January 2023.

More than a year later, Superlek reached champ-champ status when he dethroned Jonathan Haggerty in less than a minute for the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title at ONE 168: Denver.

Superlek is now set for another high-profile match when he takes on Nabil Anane, the ONE interim bantamweight Muay Thai world champion, in a world title unification match at the stacked ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang card in Japan.

The match will be the second time that Superlek and Anane face off in ONE Championship. Previously, the Thai superstar folded the 6-foot-4 phenom in their first match in June 2023.

ONE 172 goes down at the historic Saitama Super Arena on March 23.

The entire card will be available live on pay-per-view at watch.onefc.com.

---

Superlek Kiatmoo9 looks back at his early struggles in Bangkok

Superlek Kiatmoo9 is undoubtedly a certified world beater at this point in his career, but there was a time when he began to doubt if he was truly capable of conquering Muay Thai.

In the same interview with Nickynachat, Superlek said he felt discouraged when he first fought in the bigger stadiums in Bangkok after his dominant run in his home province of Buriram.

"Yes. It was discouraging because I was really good from outside Bangkok. I have been winning from the provinces."

Watch Superlek's entire interview below: