Takeru opens up on decision to retire after ONE SAMURAI 1: “Without any regrets”

Takeru “Natural Born Krusher” Segawa has been thinking about this moment for years. Not with dread, but with the quiet precision of someone who has spent a career refusing to do anything halfway.

The 34-year-old Japanese kickboxing icon will make his farewell appearance in the main event of ONE SAMURAI 1 on April 29, live from Ariake Arena in Tokyo, with the ONE Interim Flyweight Kickboxing World Title on the line against Rodtang “The Iron Man” Jitmuangnon.

The decision to retire wasn’t sudden. Takeru had been weighing it for three or four years, measuring the demands of his body against the fire still burning inside him. When the right moment finally became clear, he didn’t hesitate.

“Well, regarding my retirement, actually, I didn’t have the feeling of retirement yet,” Takeru said. “But I had been thinking about when would be the right timing to retire for about three or four years. The condition of my body was my top consideration.

“So the moment when I thought that this would truly be the last time I could [fight at my] strongest condition was probably about a year ago.”

For an athlete who has built his identity on uncompromising intensity, the idea of giving anything less than his peak was never going to be acceptable. He made clear he could continue — but chose not to:

“If I wanted to continue, I think I probably still could. But I thought this might be the last time I can put myself in my strongest condition, so I decided to retire this time.”

Takeru meets Rodtang in ONE SAMURAI 1 main event

The rematch with Rodtang is the reason Takeru is still here. Their first meeting at ONE 172 in March 2025 lasted 80 seconds — a left hook that dropped him before the fight ever really started. That loss became fuel. He rebuilt at ONE 173, stopping Denis Puric in the second round in Tokyo and earning the rematch he had always wanted.

“The essence of my fighting style is a slugfest, and I’ve always wanted to have that kind of fight with Rodtang,” Takeru said. “The last fight, I couldn’t even reach that point and lost. So, this is why I [always] believed I must fight Rodtang one more time. That’s the reason I have come this far.”

The fans, his team, and his family are the final motivator. Since arriving in ONE, consecutive losses on home soil weighed on him in a way that records and titles never could. April 29 is his chance to close the book on his own terms.

“I still have demanding [training sessions despite my decision]. The fight is not over, so I don’t have sadness or similar feelings associated with retirement,” he said.

“Because the next [match] will be the last, I’m spending each day so that I can give everything I have and to retire without any regrets.”