WATCH: Striking superstars Rodtang, Takeru electrify Bangkok crowd with heated face-off at ONE Friday Fights 81
The recently concluded ONE Friday Fights 81 card last Friday inside the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, became the avenue for the face-off between reigning ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon and three-division K-1 world champion Takeru Segawa.
Rodtang and Takeru stood against each other in the middle of the ring following the latter's second-round knockout win over Thant Zin in their flyweight kickboxing scrap.
ONE Championship posted the full video of this exciting sequence on their YouTube channel, and they wrote the video's description with:
"ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion Rodtang and Japanese kickboxing icon Takeru faced off ahead of their future super-fight!"
This encounter between the two striking superstars delighted the packed arena and the thousands of combat sports fans watching the card. The face-off got intense, with Rodtang pushing off Takeru.
They also shared their initial thoughts about their future matchup with 'The Natural Born Crusher', saying that he is ready to fight him. 'The Iron Man' responded and warned Takeru that he won't have an easy fight when they meet inside the ring.
Eventually, they ended the face-off with a show of respect, and they hugged each other before heading out of the ring.
Takeru Segawa opens up on being cautious in the opening round against Thant Zin
Takeru shrugged off a first-round knockdown against Thant Zin and came back with a vicious front kick body knockout to finish off the young Burmese star in the second round.
During the post-fight interview, the Team Vasileus representative admitted that he had been careful in the first round before he went into another gear in the second stanza, as he said:
"In the first round, I was being too careful of my opponent. So I couldn't press that much. But in the second round, I knew I could keep the distance close, and I got to finish him."