ONE Championship chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong is excited for the upcoming historic ONE 165 event in Tokyo this weekend, and it’s largely due to the potential blockbuster matchups between his top flyweight strikers.
ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru goes down live from the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan this Sunday, January 28th. Two of the best flyweight kickboxers in the world collide for all the marbles.
Reigning and undisputed ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion ‘The Kicking Machine’ Superlek Kiatmoo9 defends his gold against Japanese icon and former K-1 champ ‘The Natural Born Crusher’ Takeru Segawa in the evening’s main event.
Superlek was initially scheduled to defend his belt against Elias Mahmoudi at ONE Fight Night 18 in early January, but the latter pulled out at the last minute. Meanwhile, Takeru was initially expected to throw down with ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon, but ‘The Iron Man’ got injured.
With their opponents out of commission, Superlek and Takeru now have a date with destiny.
Speaking at the ONE 165 official press conference last week, Sityodtong said:
“Superlek was fortunate because he was ready for the match as he was scheduled to fight Elias on January 13th, but the latter withdrew. If Takeru wins this match and defends the belt against Rodtang in the future, it would create an even bigger story.”
Needless to say, a Takeru vs. Rodtang fight is still very much in the cards, and if he beats Superlek this Sunday night, it certainly sets the stage.
Chatri Sityodtong reveals Rodtang will attend ONE 165 in Tokyo
Meanwhile, Sityodtong says Rodtang was totally bummed he couldn’t fight Takeru, but he’s still looking forward to the showdown in the near future.
Sityodtong added:
“Rodtang will come to watch this fight in Tokyo on January 28th. He really wanted to fight Takeru. It’s genuinely unfortunate that Rodtang had to withdraw due to injury during training.”
Fans in the United States and Canada can catch all the action of ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru live via pay-per-view at watch.onefc.com. Check ONE Championship’s official website for more information on how to watch from your location.