ONE Championship made its return to Japan this past weekend to an explosive event that had fans in Tokyo buzzing.
This past weekend, ONE 165: Superlek vs Takeru inside the Ariake Arena produced an action-packed event with contenders picking up important wins.
ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru results
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The main event delivered on its potential as Superlek Kiatmoo9 and Takeru Segawa put on a show for everyone through five rounds of flyweight kickboxing action. “The Kicking Machine” lived up to his name as promised, unleashing his world-renowned kicks on his challenger.
He started attacking his rival’s leg early on, limiting his opponent’s power for much of the match. His distance control also helped him keep “The Natural Born Crusher” at bay.
Meanwhile, Takeru showed why he is one of the best fighters in the world today by pushing the Thai star to the limit despite his early struggles. Midway through their match, he unleashed a barrage of punches that had the crowd on their feet.
Unfortunately for the hometown hero, Superlek was just too strong and too crafty in controlling the match. As the dust settled, the Kiatmoo9 Gym representative was hailed as the winner, retaining the ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Championship and earning himself a US$50,000 bonus.
ONE 165: Ruotolo vs. Langaker results
In the co-main event, Kade Ruotolo asserted his dominance in the lightweight submission grappling division by coming out on top once again in his rematch with Tommy Langaker.
Much like their performance in ONE’s Best Submission Grappling Fight of 2023, both competitors showed another technical masterclass for fans around the world. Ruotolo was aggressive throughout the contest and scored a catch after locking in a D’Arce Choke midway through their match.
Smooth as butter 🧈
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Despite Langaker’s best defenses, the Norwegian grappler could not score a catch of his own. Ultimately, Ruotolo claimed the victory to keep his ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Title and earn his own US$50,000 performance bonus.
Shinya Aoki vs. John Lineker & $50,000 win bonuses
In a surprising turn of events, Shinya Aoki faced John Lineker instead of Sage Northcutt in an openweight MMA bout. The match was announced during the broadcast of the event, with Northcutt saying on his social media page that his cornermen had visa issues that wouldn’t allow them to be in his corner for the fight.
“Tobikan Judan” was unfazed by the last-minute change of opponent, as he wasted no time in neutralizing his opponent’s vaunted hands by taking the match to the ground. “Hands Of Stone” was able to get back on his feet, but Aoki squeezed him to submission with a rear-naked choke to end the match at the 3:00 mark of the first round.
The win was the Japanese martial arts legend’s 48th of his illustrious career and also won him a US$50,000 bonus.
Three other competitors won performance bonuses, including Nieky Holzken for knocking out Yoshihiro Akiyama in the first round of their special rules super-fight, Marat Grigorian for his knockout win over Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong, and Garry Tonon for submitting Martin Nguyen in the first round of their featherweight MMA bout.
Congrats to the ONE 165 US$50K bonus winners! 💰 Agree with the picks?
Watch the ONE 165 full event replay
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Also Read: “I Want To Submit Him” – Kade Ruotolo Determined To Take The Finish In Rematch With Tommy Langaker
All fight results for ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru
Here are the full results of ONE 165:
Gustavo Balart defeated Hiroba Minowa via split decision (strawweight – MMA)
Bokang Masunyane defeated Keito Yamakita via unanimous decision (strawweight – MMA)
Rade Opacic defeated Iraj Azizpour via unanimous decision (heavyweight – kickboxing)
Yuya Wakamatsu defeated Danny Kingad via unanimous decision (flyweight – MMA)
Ayaka Miura defeated Ayaka Miura via unanimous decision (atomweight – MMA)
Garry Tonon defeated Martin Nguyen via submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:41 of round one (featherweight – MMA)
Marat Grigorian defeated Sitthichai Sitsonpeenong via KO (uppercut to the body) at 1:20 of round three (156.5lbs catchweight – kickboxing)
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Nieky Holzken defeated Yoshihiro Akiyama via KO (right hook) at 1:40 of round one (187.25lbs catchweight – special rules superfight)
Shinya Aoki defeated John Lineker via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:00 of round one (openweight – MMA)
Kade Ruotolo defeated Tommy Langaker via unanimous decision (ONE lightweight submission grappling world championship)
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Superlek Kiatmoo9 defeated Takeru Segawa via unanimous decision ONE flyweight kickboxing world championship)