Takeru ONE 172: "Still a legend" - Denis Puric, Brandon Royval, fans have nothing but love for Takeru despite ONE 172 loss to Rodtang

The combat sports community is rallying around Japanese kickboxing great Takeru Segawa following a heartbreaking knockout defeat to Thai superstar Rodtang Jitmuangnon in the headliner of ONE 172 this past Sunday, March 23.

Taking to his Instagram account, 'Natural Born Krusher' thanked his supporters and every fan who watched the event while sharing plans for his immediate future.

Watch the entire video below:

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Among those who voiced their support for Takru in the comments section are top-ranked UFC flyweight Brandon Royval and ONE Muay Thai and kickboxing veteran Denis Puric:

"Still one of the greatest to do it 🙏🏼"

"Head up champ you are still a legend ❤️❤️❤️"

Screenshot of comments. [Takeru/Instagram]

Takeru's biggest fans also chimed in:

"Will forever support you no matter what! So proud and happy for you for coming this far and never giving up! It inspires me even more to look up to you ❤️ You will forever be a champion and our natural born krusher! Love you loads."

"I'll always believe in you Takeru ur still my goat."

Last but certainly not least, former Krush super welterweight king and Takeru's compatriot Yasuhiro Kido wrote:

"Because Takero no Mikoto was there, I could see such a gorgeous ONE in Japan! Thank you 😊✨

Takeru bares thoughts on ONE 172 outcome

Takeru is no stranger to adversity throughout his decorated career, but the 80-second knockout to 'The Iron Man' stung him a lot more than people would think.

Speaking to the media following ONE 172, the Team Vasileus founder said:

"To be honest, like I always told — today's fight was everything to me. And I didn't have any plans afterwards. I was ready to fight with Rodtang to the maximum of my abilities. And I prepared for it. And as a result, I feel disappointed."

Watch the entire video below:

About the author

Karl has been an MMA writer at Sportskeeda since 2023. He holds a Bachelor of Arts major in history, which helps him pay attention to the finer details while writing, and also has first-hand experience in boxing. He has a total experience of 5 years, and has worked for the International Business Times.

Karl turned into an MMA fan back in 2011 after watching Tito Ortiz defeat Ryan Bader via first-round submission at UFC 132. He has interviewed ONE world champions like Eduard Folayang, Joshua Pacio, Stamp Fairtex, and Tawanchai in his career so far.

On the non-MMA side of things, he interviewed WWE superstar Matt Riddle in 2021 and his question about Roman Reigns elicited an interesting answer which was widely covered by outlets like Sportskeeda and Cultaholic Wrestling's YouTube channel. He has also interviewed NBA stars Dwight Howard, Nick Young, Andre Roberson, Shabazz Muhammad, Jason Williams and Brian Scalabrine plus Filipino women's volleyball star Alyssa Valdez.

Karl ensures to double-check facts before using them in articles, and reads up on potential topics for pieces a day before. In his off time, he likes to play video games, and keep up with basketball and pro wrestling.

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Edited by C. Naik