“This match will end in a KO” – Superlek primed to give Takeru a taste of his knockout power at ONE 165

As an athlete who thrives against generational talents and tough-as-nails warriors, Superlek Kiatmoo9 is beyond thrilled to defend his ONE flyweight kickboxing world title against Takeru Segawa when ONE Championship returns to Tokyo, Japan.

The Thai megastar and the Japanese striking ace lead the line at ONE 165, which emanates from the Ariake Arena on March 1.

All eyes will undoubtedly be on this main event of the night, which is sure to reproduce the same kind of magic when The Kiatmoo9 Gym star and Rodtang went toe-to-toe inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

For his part, ‘The Kicking Machine’ believes the fight will go down with similar intensity. However, he doesn’t think it will last until the final bell.

Speaking to the press at the ONE 165 pre-fight press conference, the Thai athlete said:

“I want many people to come and watch this match. I think this match will end in a KO.”

Based on his track record under the ONE banner last year, that could likely be the case when he crosses paths with the three-division K-1 world champion.

Superlek earned three consecutive highlight-reel finishes from March to July last year, getting Danial Williams (round three), Nabil Anane (round one), and Tagir Khalilov (round two) out of the way with a variety of tools in his striking arsenal.

Takeru may be the favorite heading into ONE’s return to 'The Land of the Rising Sun', but make no mistake, ‘The Kicking Machine’ never fails to show up when it matters most.

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Superlek must turn up the heat early vs. Takeru

When an opportunity arises, Superlek is always quick to swoop in and go guns blazing to punch his ticket to victory. That should be the same approach he must execute against a fighter of Takeru’s caliber.

‘The Natural Born Crusher’ does his best job when he’s fighting on the front foot, so the Thai striker must find ways to gain advantage from the opening bell.

If he can deploy his kicks early and work from his punches from distance, the 28-year-old should leave his Japanese foe in all sorts of trouble in their scheduled five-round contest.

ONE 165 airs live on Sunday, January 28, via global pay-per-view on watch.onefc.com.