At ONE Fight Night 12, Superlek Kiatmoo9 continued his incredible run of performances with a second-round stoppage of Tagir Khalilov. The ONE Championship flyweight kickboxing king’s return to Muay Thai has been nothing short of perfect. For this bout, it was all about his preparation on his opponent ahead of the matchup.
Superlek Basks in Win, Eyes Championship Gold
“I watched Tagir’s fights extensively before this fight, and I prepared my strategy. It wasn’t just using the elbows. I was determined to damage his body, so I’m very happy that it went according to plan. In the first round, I was mostly just watching Tagir fight to see his movement. I noticed he had a lot of head movement, so I changed my movement in order to counter that. In the second round, I landed my elbows, and the referee decided to stop the fight. My plan was just to finish the fight by knockout or TKO. I just wanted to finish the fight beautifully and show the people the art of Muay Thai,” Superlek told ONE.
After the referee stepped in to put an end to the bout, Superlek jumped onto the ropes to celebrate with the fans. Lumpinee Boxing Stadium was rocking with excitement as one of their own capped off the night with a huge victory. And Superlek was appreciative of the support he received.
“That celebration truly came from the happiness that I felt in my heart. I was really relieved that I wasn’t a disappointment to any fans that had come to support me. I’m really happy that they were here or watching on TV and they could watch me defeat my opponent like that. I’d like to give a big thanks to all my fans and supporters. I will try to be better every day and try to improve my skills to show everyone,” Superlek said.
When it came time for the post-match interview, Superlek was clear on his objective. He called out both ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon and ONE Bantamweight World Champion Jonathan Haggerty. He was adamant about his bid to win Muay Thai gold and become a two-sport World Champion.
But that does not mean he is abandoning his post in the kickboxing realm. Backstage, he assured the fans he would also be more than happy to defend his throne. And that includes a match against one of the most exciting recent signings in combat sports.
“I would like to face Haggerty because he’s a good fighter, and today he’s gotten stronger, he’s gotten tougher, so I would like to face the very best version of him. Of course, I would love to face Takeru [Segawa]. Why not? I would like to face anyone who’s strong. Maybe even better than me to improve my skill.”
