Takeru vows redemption against Rodtang at ONE Samurai 1: “I cannot quit without revenge”

Eighty seconds. That is all it took to hand Takeru “Natural Born Krusher” Segawa the most humiliating defeat of his career — and the wound that has driven every single training session since.

On Wednesday, April 29, the former three-division K-1 Champion makes his final professional appearance at ONE Samurai 1, live from Tokyo’s Ariake Arena. The ONE Interim Flyweight Kickboxing World Title is on the line. The rematch with Rodtang “The Iron Man” Jitmuangnon is the real prize.

Their first meeting at ONE 172 inside Saitama Super Arena in March 2025 ended in an instant. Rodtang backed Takeru to the ropes and dropped him with a left hook at the 1:20 mark — clean, violent, and permanent. A shell-shocked crowd watched in silence. For a man who had never been stopped so quickly, it left a mark that points directly at April 29.

“After I lost to Rodtang, that was around the time I started thinking that I must defeat Rodtang and retire. I lost to him in the first round. Until then, I had never lost a fight like that quickly,” Takeru said.

“He was the first opponent who gave me that level of humiliation as a fighter. So I feel if I don’t get revenge against a fighter like him, I can’t finish my career as a fighter.”

Takeru arrives healthy, hungry, and ready for his storybook send-off

The 34-year-old rebuilt his confidence at ONE 173 in November, where he stopped Denis Puric in the second round at Ariake Arena, earning a US$50,000 performance bonus and the rematch he had always wanted.

He had entered ONE Championship with one name on his mind. Everything that followed — the loss to Superlek, the rebuild, the knockout of Puric — was a chapter in the same story leading back to Rodtang.

He arrives this time without injury, in the condition he believes reflects the best version of himself, and with a clear understanding of what is at stake.

“Last time, I was not in the best condition with some injuries, so I wanted to fight him one more time as my last match and in the best condition,” he said.

“After all, I signed with ONE Championship because I wanted to fight Rodtang, so I must fight in the best condition. If not, I would remain frustrated. For myself, the most important thing is to give everything that I have, win the final fight, and achieve both of my long-time goals: get the ONE belt and defeat Rodtang. I have never lost in the way I did in the last fight, so I cannot quit without revenge on that.”