- George Chung
- Sep 30, 2024
- 2 min read
A trio of ONE Championship stars have gold on their mind after scoring huge victories at ONE Friday Fights 81: Superbon vs. Nattawut this past weekend.
Superbon, Takeru Segawa, and Ilias Ennahachi all churned out impressive performances at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, putting themselves in the frame for World Title shots in the not-too-distant future.
Here is what they had to say at the September 27 event’s post-fight press conference.
Superbon
Superbon shocked “Smokin” Jo Nattawut with a showstopping first-round elbow that left his fellow-Thai countryman unable to answer the referee’s count.
With the victory, the ONE Interim Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion could potentially have snatched Nattawut’s scheduled crack at featherweight Muay Thai king Tawanchai PK Saenchai, which goes down at ONE 169: Atlanta in November.
Superbon came up short in a razor thin split decision when he faced Tawanchai earlier this year, and the 34-year-old is keen for an opportunity to put it right in the rematch.
“This [win] means I step closer to the belt. For me right now, because my goal is the belt, so I'm going to go there,” he said.
“Last time [we fought], I think I wasn't a 100% before the fight. But I cannot say that. So next time I will be a 100%. If you see that fight, I think my technique, everything I do better, but my energy was not enough. So, when my energy is not enough, that’s why I lost that.”
Takeru Segawa
Japanese kickboxing superstar Takeru Segawa picked up his maiden victory under the ONE banner with a devastating second-round TKO win over Burmese knockout artist Thant Zin.
After seeing a mooted showdown with ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon scuppered by the Thai megastar’s injury earlier this year, Takeru now hopes to restore the highly anticipated matchup next.
“I came to ONE to fight Rodtang, and if I don’t win this fight, if I don’t get over this, I have no qualities to be in ONE. Right now, I get to meet Rodtang,” he said.
“I am ready for Rodtang, I hope you win your next fight and I’ll be waiting here in the ring.”
Ilias Ennahachi
Former ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Champion Ilias Ennahachi improved to 2-0 at the bantamweight limit, with an ultra-impressive unanimous decision win over former divisional king Hiroki Akimoto.
Having shown once again that he can hang at the higher weight class, the Moroccan star now has his sights set on ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Champion Jonathan “The General” Haggerty.
“[I want to fight] everybody, everybody, but I want the new one. What I mean by the new one, I already have the old belt at flyweight, and now I want the new one. So, you know what’s next, I’m ready,” he said.
“What I say, I’m too smart for these guys, I’m too fast for these guys. Also now, I moved to bantamweight, I have more power, you saw it against Akimoto. I think he never went down in his fights in ONE Championship. I think I’m the first one to put him down. It only took one hook, so you know how much power I have."
