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Japanese kickboxing superstar and former ONE flyweight kickboxing world title challenger Takeru Segawa is ecstatic after getting his first victory in ONE Championship last weekend.
The 33-year-old Team Vasileus representative turned in a vintage performance against young Burmese star Thant Zin. He won via second-round knockout at ONE Friday Fights 81: Superbon vs. Nattawut on Sept. 27 at Lumpinee Stadium.
It was Takeru's first win in the world's largest martial arts organization, and 'The Natural Born Crusher' couldn't be happier.
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He told the media at the official ONE Friday Fights 81 post-event interviews:
"Since I came to ONE, I haven’t had any wins or victories, that was bad for me. I didn’t feel good about that. I also had a feeling that I had to restart in this match."
As for what he was most happy about, Takeru said that a potential showdown with reigning ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion 'The Iron Man' Rodtang Jitmuangnon was finally within reach.
'The Natural Born Crusher' said:
"I came to ONE to fight Rodtang, and if I don’t win this fight, if I don’t get over this, I have no qualities to be in ONE. Right now, I get to meet Rodtang."
Needless to say, a Takeru vs. Rodtang showdown is as big a fight as it gets, and fans surely can't wait to see these two finally lock horns in the ONE Championship ring.
Takeru Segawa was shocked at the toughness of Thant Zin: "I didn’t expect that it was going to be this dramatic"
Japanese star Takeru Segawa expected some resistance from Burmese phenom Thant Zin in their kickboxing showdown at ONE Friday Fights 81 last weekend. But, he didn't expected to get knocked down and nearly stopped.
Thant Zin dropped Takeru with a wild swinging left hook as the Japanese star backpedalled in the first round. Takeru got caught right on the chin and went down.
Afterward, he told Nick Atkin what was going through his mind in that moment:
"I didn’t expect that it was going to be this dramatic. I know that Thant Zin is very strong. I didn’t expect myself to win that easily, but if I didn’t get [knocked] down, that would have been better. But I know that I have entertained the ONE Friday Fights fans all over the globe."
Stay tuned to Sportskeeda MMA for all the latest news and updates surrounding Takeru Segawa's next fight.
