Takeru Segawa dedicates fight to his home nation, says he fought “carrying Japan" on his "back” against Thant Zin in Bangkok

Takeru Segawa always knew that he was representing more than just himself when he made the move to ONE Championship. The Japanese kickboxing megastar is coming off a huge knockout victory in his last match against Thant Zin at ONE Friday Fights 81 in September at the historic Lumpinee Stadium.

Taking to Instagram, Takeru said he felt compelled to represent his home country of Japan during his showdown against Thant Zin in Bangkok.

Takeru put on a masterful striking display when he made the walk inside the hallowed Lumpinee Stadium.

The three-division K-1 Kickboxing world champion wore a kimono, emblazoned in red, white, and gold, that Japanese rockstar and designer Yoshiki created for him.

Takeru Segawa posted:

"The gown I wore for this fight is a kimono that symbolizes Japanese culture, made by Yoshikimono. The color is a design that combines the Japanese flag and the champion's color, gold. I fought carrying Japan on my back 🇯🇵"

Takeru certainly made his nation proud when he scored one of the most impressive victories of his already-prolific career.

After getting dropped in the first round, 'The Natural Born Crusher' showed why he's considered one of the greatest Japanese fighters of all time.

Takeru channeled his karate background and planted a stiff body kick that quickly folded Thant Zin in the second round.

Sensing that the Burmese star was out of it, Takeru bludgeoned Thant Zin with a barrage of hooks to score the knockout win.

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Takeru Segawa admits getting knocked down woke him up against Thant Zin

While some fighters may get rattled when they touch the canvas, Takeru Segawa does the opposite.

Takeru suffered a shocking knockdown in the first round of his flyweight kickboxing tussle against Thant Zin this past week. The 33-year-old, however, said it was a necessary sacrifice he, unfortunately, had to make.

'The Natural Born Crusher' said in his post-fight interview that the knockdown woke him up and practically forced him to step into high gear to knock Thant Zin out. He said:

"It’s been a while since I’ve been knocked down, and in my head, it was just like, ‘I had to attack back.’ Also, I had some worries that I might lose this fight but I got to be very calm and took it back in the second round."