WATCH: Japanese legend Takeru holds back the tears while heading backstage after stunning KO loss to Rodtang at ONE 172

Japanese kickboxing icon Takeru Segawa felt the pressure of closing out ONE 172 on Sunday, March 23, with a victory over Rodtang Jitmuangnon in their flyweight kickboxing bout to cap off a near-perfect night for his fellow compatriots.

Happening inside the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, 'Natural Born Krusher' made his way to the circle to a rousing ovation. However, the fans' elation turned into horror as 'The Iron Man' knocked him out at the 1:20 mark of the first round.

In an emotional video shared by ONE on Instagram, a devastated Takeru tried to hide his tears as he walked back to the locker room.

Watch the entire video below:

Leading up to his main event bout with Rodtang, eight of 10 Japanese fighters emerged victorious. Masaaki Noiri and Yuya Wakamatsu led the way by capturing the ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world championship and ONE flyweight MMA world championship via TKO in their respective bouts.

After the event, the Team Vasileus founder addressed his fans during the post-event press conference and apologized for what he perceived to be a failure to live up to their expectations.

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Takeru plans to take a layoff to recalibrate himself

Getting knocked out in front of one's home fans is never easy, and for an all-time kickboxing great like Takeru, he is taking the defeat to heart.

In an Instagram post following ONE 172, the 33-year-old wrote:

"Thank you so much for all your support. Everyone who helped out with this tournament, the fighters who participated, and everyone who watched at the venue or on PPV thanks to everyone, I was able to fight on the biggest stage possible."

He continued:

"I'm going to take some rest and think about the damage to my body and myself so I can find some answers. Thank you so much to all the fans who believed in me and followed me."