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Superlek Kiatmoo9 is coming into his next bout with the same intense motivation he brings to every fight. But, for the first time, he’ll be competing without a familiar presence in his life. When “The Kicking Machine” takes centerstage this Sunday, January 28, in the main event of ONE 165, his uncle, Pun Iamsiri, will no longer be cheering for him.

As he was busy preparing to put his ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Title on the line against Japanese striking superstar Takeru Segawa inside the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan, Superlek learned that he lost his uncle to an illness.

Superlek Kiatmoo9 is dealing with grief amid competition

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The death of a loved one is never easy. But this news hit the striking superstar particularly hard, as his uncle was a combat sports fan. Pun Iamsiri watched Superlek fight all the way from the competitive stadium circuit in Thailand to the global stage of ONE. “I was in fight camp when he died. That day, my mother called me. This is quite unusual because my mother rarely calls me, but I missed it because I was teaching,” Superlek Kiatmoo9 recalled.

The flyweight champion further stated that his brother was the first one to break the news. “Then my brother sent me a message asking if I would come home. I asked him, ‘Why do I have to come?’ And he said, ‘Don’t you know that our uncle just passed away?’ I was in shock for a while. Then I learned that he had died of an illness,” revealed the 28-year-old.

Despite the devastating loss, “The Kicking Machine” has continued to press on with his preparations. “But my family told me to keep training. Just come to the funeral. I returned home to attend the funeral in the morning and came back to the gym in the evening.” 

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Superlek’s unshakable determination to defend ONE flyweight title

Always the professional, Superlek tries to separate personal matters from training as much as possible. As he heads towards his upcoming battle, the 28-year-old remains determined to keep the ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Championship in Thailand.

Fueled by the belief of his people and his family, he promises to find the win as efficiently as possible. “I have a lot of motivation for this fight. I get to defend my belt in Japan against the top-ranked fighter there. I want to show all the Japanese people that I can defeat their hero,” Superlek said.

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The Thai kickboxer added, “I badly want to knock him out as quickly as possible, even though I know this will not be an easy task.” All the action from ONE 165 this Sunday, January 28, will be shown live on pay-per-view at watch.onefc.com.

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