ONE Championship will return to Japan in 2024, and it’s bringing a massive kickboxing fight to Pay-Per-View.
On Thursday, promotion officials announced via press release that ONE 165 will be headlined by Muay Thai star Rodtang Jitmuangnon taking on Japanese ace Takeru Segawa. The event is set to take place on January 28, 2024 at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
Rodtang vs. Takeru will be contested over five rounds in the flyweight division.
One other fight was announced for ONE 165 on Thursday, a lightweight MMA battle between “Super” Sage Northcutt and Japanese legend Shinya Aoki.
It’s Rodtang versus Takeru that will no doubt have fight fans buzzing, however. The pair are widely regarded as two of the most dangerous strikers in combat sports.
Having earned his spot in history as the only three-weight K-1 champ ever, Takeru has been fighting on the biggest stages for years. In 2022, he was paired up with another of Japan’s biggest stars, Tenshin Nasukawa, in a cross-promotional effort involving RISE, K-1, and RIZIN’s Nobuyuki Sakakibara. That card reportedly drew over 500,000 buys on PPV in Japan, with a crowd of 56,399 taking in the spectacle at the Tokyo Dome.
Takeru lost the bout by unanimous decision, but has since returned to the win column. Rodtang, meanwhile, will enter the fight off a loss to Superlek Kiatmoo9 in a non-title affair this past September, after Superlek missed weight. The 26-year old known as “The Iron Main” remains the ONE flyweight Muay Thai champion as a result.
In Thursday’s press release, Chatri Sityodtong, Chairman and CEO of ONE Championship, stated that “I am thrilled that ONE Championship has partnered with Rakuten Ticket, a blue-chip brand with a shared passion for innovation, to bring this massive event to Ariake Arena. ONE has the most passionate fans in the world, especially in Japan, where martial arts is steeped in its rich cultural history. Several of ONE’s greatest moments have taken place in Tokyo, and together with Rakuten Ticket and NSN, we can’t wait to usher in a new era with our return.”
