"When I saw the chance, I tried" - Superlek says he had eyes on knocking out Takeru with a knee at ONE 165 in January

Reigning ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion Superlek Kiatmoo9 was trying to score a knockout finish against Takeru Segawa during their world title showdown on January 28 during the main event of ONE 165 inside the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.

Superlek revealed this during his most recent interview with JSL Global Media because he was able to read one of Takeru's tendencies when throwing his own offense and attempted to take advantage of it.

'The Kicking Machine' said:

"Takeru likes to bend over when he punches. So, when I saw the chance, I tried to knee his chin, but it failed to reach the target."

Unfortunately, this knockout finish didn't materialize, but he was still able to masterfully defeat and outpoint the Japanese superstar throughout their fight by using his kicks and shopping down Takeru's legs.

View this post on Instagram

Instagram Post

This approach paid off during the fight because the power and aggressiveness of 'The Natural Born Crusher' were minimized.

With the win, Superlek improved his ONE Championship record to 13 wins and one loss, thus extending his current win streak to nine.

Superlek wants to explore and fight in heavier divisions to challenge himself

After yet another masterful performance, the Kiatmoo9 Gym product has put himself in the conversation for the best pure striker in the world today and has virtually defeated all the top names in the flyweight division in both the kickboxing and Muay Thai disciplines.

This dominance and path of destruction have floated the idea for him to explore more opportunities in heavier weight classes where he can face the top names and even the current king of the division.

Superlek has reiterated that he is open for a move in the bantamweight division to test his skills against them, challenge his limits, and possibly earn more world titles in the process.

North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription can rewatch all the action from ONE 165 via the free event replay.