Takeru stops Rodtang to seize interim ONE kickboxing crown
Takeru Segawa stopped Rodtang Jitmuangnon in round five at ONE Samurai 1 in Tokyo to win the interim ONE flyweight kickboxing world title.
ONE Samurai 1 delivered a stacked card featuring superstar fighters from around the world, with 15 bouts staged at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan, on Wednesday (April 29).
The main event, the 15th bout of the night, was a blockbuster rematch between two global striking stars: former ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon and Japan’s home favourite Takeru Segawa.
At stake was the interim ONE flyweight kickboxing world championship.
Takeru, the Japanese superstar known as “Natural Born Krusher”, completed his revenge in emphatic fashion. He pressed forward with heavy punching combinations against Rodtang, widely known as “The Iron Man”, before closing out the fight with a thrilling technical knockout in the fifth round.
The victory saw Takeru capture the interim ONE flyweight kickboxing world title in front of his home fans.
Rodtang showed trademark heart throughout the contest, but he was unable to withstand Takeru’s pressure and power, bringing one of the most anticipated fights of the year to a dramatic end.
Other results from ONE Samurai 1 were as follows:
- Bout 1: Japan’s Kanata Nagai defeated compatriot Atsubo Kambe by decision in a bantamweight mixed martial arts (MMA) bout.
- Bout 2: Taiki Naito of Japan defeated Hyu of Japan by decision in a flyweight kickboxing bout.
- Bout 3: Toki Tamaru of Japan defeated Toma Kuroda of Japan by decision in a strawweight kickboxing bout.
- Bout 4: Shimon of Japan defeated Johan Ghazali of Malaysia by decision in a flyweight Muay Thai bout. Shimon earned a 4.5 million yen performance bonus, worth around 920,000 baht.
- Bout 5: Keito Yamakita of Japan defeated Ryohei Kurosawa of Japan by submission via armbar in a strawweight MMA bout. Yamakita earned a 1.5 million yen performance bonus, worth around 310,000 baht.
- Bout 6: Tatsumitsu Wada of Japan defeated Seiichiro Ito of Japan by split decision in a flyweight MMA bout.
- Bout 7: Itsuki Hirata of Japan defeated Ritu Phogat of India by submission via rear-naked choke in an atomweight MMA bout. Hirata earned a 4.5 million yen performance bonus, worth around 920,000 baht.
- Bout 8: Hiromi Wajima of Japan defeated Ricardo Bravo of Argentina by decision in a featherweight kickboxing bout.
- Bout 9: Hiroki Akimoto of Japan defeated Taimu Hisai of Japan by split decision in a bantamweight kickboxing bout.
- Bout 10: Chihiro Sawada of Japan defeated Ayaka Miura of Japan by submission via armbar in an atomweight MMA bout. Sawada earned a 4.5 million yen performance bonus, worth around 920,000 baht.
- Bout 11: Marat Grigorian of Armenia knocked out Kaito of Japan at 1:51 of the first round in a featherweight kickboxing bout. Grigorian earned a 4.5 million yen performance bonus, worth around 920,000 baht.
- Bout 12: Jonathan Haggerty of the United Kingdom defeated Yuki Yoza of Japan by decision to retain the ONE bantamweight kickboxing world title.
- Bout 13: Nadaka defeated Songchainoi Kiatsongrit by unanimous decision to retain the ONE atomweight Muay Thai world title.
- Bout 14: Avazbek Kholmirzaev of Uzbekistan knocked out Yuya Wakamatsu of Japan at 4:53 of the second round to win the ONE flyweight MMA world title. Avazbek earned a 7.5 million yen performance bonus, worth around 1.5 million baht.
