“My body just froze” - Superlek Kiatmoo9 recalls how he survived Takeru Segawa’s punishing barrage in Tokyo showdown

Superlek Kiatmoo9's world title defense against Takeru Segawa is often credited as one of the best performances in his career, but the two-sport world champion is always quick to point out that the match was far from easy.

While he got the comfortable unanimous decision win at ONE 165, Superlek faced adversity during the fight when Takeru went on what seemed like an unstoppable barrage of strikes in the final minute of the third round.

Superlek revealed in an interview with ONE Championship that he went straight to survival mode while Takeru wailed at him for nearly a full minute.

"I took that shot from Takeru, and my body just froze. The only thing I could think of was that I had to do whatever it takes to survive," Superlek Kiatmoo9 said.

Takeru was supposed to face off against Rodtang Jitmuangnon in his ONE Championship debut, but the former ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion pulled out of the match after suffering an injury during training camp.

Superlek, who also holds the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title, ultimately stepped in and put his ONE flyweight kickboxing world title on the line against the Japanese superstar.

Despite the change, Takeru and Superlek nearly blew the roof off Ariake Arena in Tokyo.

Superlek Kiatmoo9 battered Takeru's lead leg for much of the fight to neutralize the former three-division K-1 Kickboxing champion's mobility.

Takeru, though, almost had Superlek finished when he pushed through the pain and unloaded hellfire on the Thai superstar in the third round.

In the end, Superlek's overall control of the match saw him retain the flyweight kickboxing throne via unanimous decision.

Superlek now heads back to Japan to face ONE interim bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Nabil Anane in a world title unification match at ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang.

ONE 172 goes down at the historic Saitama Super Arena on March 23. Tickets for the event are available at EPlus, while the entire card will be streamed live at watch.onefc.com.

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Superlek Kiatmoo9 reveals bantamweight will be his priority in ONE Championship

Superlek Kiatmoo9 is undoubtedly one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters of this generation, and he knows he has to focus on just one weight class to further his legacy in ONE Championship.

'The Kicking Machine' holds the ONE flyweight kickboxing and bantamweight Muay Thai world titles, and he revealed that the 145-pound division would be his focus.

In an interview with Nicknachat, Superlek said:

"No. I think I’m fine where I’m at. Actually, I’d like to focus on 65kg more than 61kg because, at 61kg, I’ve already beaten almost everyone. So I want to focus on 65kg for now."