Superlek Kiatmoo9 is a special talent. His skill set is impeccable, and the results that he has achieved in the last year alone have made him a true icon of martial arts.
At ONE 168: Denver, the ONE flyweight kickboxing champion crushed Jonathan Haggerty to claim the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai championship in 49 seconds.
The Thai star was proud of his performance and was immensely happy he was able to do it in front of the American audience inside the Ball Arena.
“I’m extremely grateful for the chance that I have here. I want everybody, all over America and the world, to see how incredible Muay Thai is, the danger, the excitement, everything about Muay Thai,” Superlek told the press at the post-event press conference.
Superlek’s performance was the result of his intense training and incredible Fight IQ.
“The Kicking Machine” had been practicing the elbow that ultimately finished the match. He had expertly broken down the film of “The General” and knew exactly how he could exploit the hole in his game.
“This is actually something I trained for. I know that when you use an elbow, the elbow would get there before the cross, so I was just waiting for the opportunity to hit him with the elbow, because I know Haggerty got a very strong cross. This is something that I thought about during the fight. When I was in the fight, in the beginning, I thought that if I fight in this slow, methodical style, there’s no way I could beat him. So I switched to a more aggressive, fast style, and I ended it quickly,” Superlek remarked.
Superlek was happy to showcase his skills on a global platform to continue showing the class of Muay Thai. He is more than happy to carry the banner for Thailand and show the world how good striking can be from Thai athletes.
“I just wanted to show that I’m a Thai fighter. We Thai fighters are strong and have amazing skills that can be showcased all over the world,” the Thai star stated.
After grabbing $50,000 for a Performance of the Night bonus, Superlek is hoping to continue to build Thailand’s martial arts platform.
While he will share the wealth with his family, he will also reinvest that money into his new gym to help build the next generation of world-class talent in Thailand.
“I am super happy that I got this bonus. First of all, the money is going to help support my family, my parents, that’s how I got here. Also, I recently opened a gym in Thailand, Superlek training gym, and I’ve got 10 or more young fighters there that I’m ready to support,” Superlek said.