Reigning and undisputed ONE strawweight kickboxing world champion Jonathan Di Bella of Canada and Italy was an avid fan of the striking arts just casually watching the recent ONE SAMURAI 1 showdown between ‘Natural Born Krusher’ Takeru Segawa and Thai megastar ‘The Iron Man’ Rodtang Jitmuangnon.
Takeru destroyed Rodtang in a shocking turn of events, knocking down the Thai warrior four times across five rounds to win a technical knockout victory based on the four-knockdown rule.
However, many people questioned the first knockdown in the very first round, whether it was legitimate or not — including Di Bella.
Speaking on Instagram, Di Bella addressed the situation and said that after rewatching the fight multiple times, he believes it was a legit knockdown.
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Di Bella said:
“Takeru definitely looks more prepared than in the first fight, and he drops him. First knockdown was a little questionable but after that, when I rewatched it, it looked like a legitimate knockdown. Good call by the ref.”
Takeru ended up winning the ONE interim flyweight kickboxing world title and becoming the first man to stop Rodtang in ONE Championship. After the fight, he went on to announce his retirement from professional competition.
Takeru reveals historic game plan against Rodtang: “The plan from the first round was to chip away at his legs”
As for Takeru Segawa, ‘Natural Born Krusher’ revealed after the fight his entire game plan that led to the biggest victory of his career. He told U-Next in a recent interview:
“The plan from the first round was to chip away at his legs. My team and I decided that since he is so durable, we couldn’t rely on a headshot to finish him. We focused entirely on the legs and the body. I could feel him starting to dislike the leg kicks, and once a fighter’s awareness drops to their legs, it opens up other opportunities.”
ONE SAMURAI 1 was held at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan on April 29, and was one of the most exciting ONE Championship cards this year.
Fans in the United States and Canada can catch the replay of ONE SAMURAI 1 on-demand via live.onefc.com.
Edited by Aziel Karthak