Takeru Segawa promises to “come back to Japan with a win” before leaving for Thailand for ONE Friday Fights 81

Takeru Segawa is heading off to Thailand with a promise to fulfill.

The Japanese megastar will make his second appearance under the ONE Championship banner when he takes on Thant Zin in a flyweight kickboxing matchup at ONE Friday Fights 81 Friday at the iconic Lumpinee Stadium.

Ahead of his pivotal matchup in Bangkok, Takeru promised his home nation that he would bring home a win and possibly restart his bid for a piece of ONE Championship gold.

Takeru Segawa wrote on Instagram:

"End of last practice in Japan. I'm heading to Thailand tomorrow 🇹🇭. I will definitely come back to Japan with a win. Thank you for your support!"

Takeru is arguably the greatest Japanese kickboxer in history and the only fighter to capture world titles across three divisions in K-1 Kickboxing.

The former K-1 bantamweight, featherweight, and super featherweight world champion eventually made his way to ONE Championship in January when he challenged Superlek Kiatmoo9 for the ONE flyweight kickboxing world title.

With his promotional debut set for the main event of ONE 165, Takeru pulled out all the stops to deliver a fitting performance in front of his hometown fans at Tokyo's Ariake Arena.

Takeru had an inspiring near finish in the third round when he unloaded a barrage of punches down Superlek's guard, but the Thai megastar was far too strong throughout the entire contest and ultimately retained his gold via unanimous decision.

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Takeru Segawa wants to secure a KO win over Thant Zin in Bangkok

Coming off a months-long injury layoff, Takeru Segawa is determined to make his comeback memorable.

Takeru suffered multiple muscle tears in his left leg in his defeat to Superlek at ONE 165, but he's determined more than ever to showcase what made him such a powerful figure in his match against Thant Zin.

The Burmese rising star is 2-0 in ONE Championship, but Takeru plans to halt that momentum in his quest for ONE Championship gold.

Takeru told ONE Championship in an interview:

"He's a young fighter, so he'll have momentum. I'll be careful of that while sticking to my own fighting style. Since he's an aggressive type, I want to win by KO."