"I planned to knock him out with a head kick" - Superlek reveals mission in Tokyo was to sleep Takeru with trademark weapon
Months on from their main event clash at ONE 165, Superlek Kiatmoo9 has revealed details about his game plan for facing Takeru Segawa.
'The Kicking Machine' emerged victorious on that night in Tokyo, Japan, defending his ONE flyweight kickboxing world championship in the process against the former multi-time K-1 world champion.
The world champion earned a hard fought decision win on that night, but it wasn't for a lack of trying to finish his opponent that the fight went the full five rounds.
He told JSL Global Media in a recent interview that he was attempting to set his opponent up for his trademark offense.
Superlek even credited his opponent on that night for being smart enough to see a potential trap and avoid falling for it:
"I planned to knock him out with a high kick. Before the fight, I told my cornerman that I don't want to kick his body because it can't bypass his guard. I want to lure him to punch me a lot and I'll counter his punch with a high kick. But he's smart enough to not use his right hand too much. So I didn't have a chance to high kick him."
Watch the full interview below:
Superlek and Takeru showed levels at ONE 165
Once again, it only speaks to the incredible experience and ability of Takeru that he was able to avoid such a dangerous attack from Superlek.
Many competitors have found themselves looking up at the lights after getting caught by the patented high kick from 'The Kicking Machine'.
The champion's kicks were still the deciding factor in this fight but rather than doing damage upstairs, it was the leg kicks that really defined the fight.
Both men displayed incredible heart, toughness, will, and skill in that fight and left the fans inside the Ariake Arena inside the Japanese capital stunned with what they were watching.
This huge clash between elite strikers certainly lived up to the hype, and that's a huge credit to both superstars, arguably the finest strikers in modern day history.