"I achieved my goal" - Superlek Kiatmoo9 earns victory in exciting Muay Thai Grand Prix clash with Taiki Naito

ONE Championship hosted Superlek Kiatmoo9 vs. Taiki Naito at ONE 157 as part of the ONE Muay Thai Flyweight Grand Prix. In a fun contest, the Thai fighter was able to land stronger kicks and better strikes to walk away with the victory.

Kiatmoo9 was declared the official winner, defeating Taiki Naito via unanimous decision. The winner of this fight will now go on to face the victor of the Josue Cruz vs. Walter Goncalves fight in the next round of the Grand Prix.

In his post-fight interview, Kiatmoo9 seemed somewhat disappointed with not getting a finish:

"It's not [the] best, as I had planned for tonight. But I'm very happy that I did it. I achieved my goal. Since this is ONE Championship, I am very happy with the result tonight."

'The Kicking Machine' of Thailand is a multi-time champion in Muay Thai with over 120 victories in his career. Japanese striker Taiki Naito has been in martial arts since before he was in school and held a title in RISE.

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Superlek Kiatmoo9 vs. Taiki Naito play-by-play

In round one, Kiatmoo9 opened with powerful kicks, both roundhouse and front, to the face and body. The Thai fighter continued to land strong kicks as the fight went on. Naito gradually began to counter these kicks with sweeps, kicking out the base leg, which knocked his opponent to the ground twice.

Mitch Chilson, the ONE Championship commentator, expressed his surprise and said:

"Naito is not being outclassed here by the tournament favorite."

Naito also landed a kick while his opponent was on the ground, causing a pause in the action.

Superlek Kiatmoo9 continued to lead aggressively in round two. The two fighters muscled each other in the clinch but to no effect. The Thai fighter landed an elbow with authority and followed it up with a salvo of knees and elbows, finishing the round strong.

The third round saw both fighters exchange powerful kicks. Kiatmoo9 dashed in and attempted a huge elbow from the top. Like Naito earlier in the fight, the Thai landed a ground kick on his opponent, causing a pause in the action. Once the fight resumed, the tournament favorite aggressively moved forward, throwing powerful kicks, knees, and elbows to control the round. He also managed to land a big over-the-top elbow on his Japanese opponent.