Still Supreme! Superlek Successfully Defends World Flyweight Kickboxing Title at ONE Fight Night 8
As the smoke cleared from the main event in ONE Fight Night 8 last Friday, March 24, one thing remains clear - Superlek is still supreme! The Kicking Machine was able to successfully defend his ONE World Flyweight Kickboxing championship against a courageous but overmatched Danial Williams at the event held inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
The fight ended with an exciting and dominant win for Superlek, but some fans are probably a little underwhelmed. The reason, as most fight fans know, is that Superlek was supposed to defend his belt against fellow Thai superstar, Rodtang, this past weekend. The fight is significant because it would be the very first time that the two Muay Thai icons will be facing each other. However, Rodtang suffered an injury just a few days before their eagerly anticipated match-up.
It was an unfortunate turn of events, as Superlek was excited at the chance to take on the highly-popular ‘Iron Man’. Their fight is not meant to be, at least for now. With the main event missing its other headliner, Danial ‘Mini T’ Williams, stepped up to the challenge.
The Thai / Australian fighter, who also competes in Muay Thai and MMA, was supposed to fight Rui Botelho in a strawweight Muay Thai match as part of the event’s undercard. But the lure of fighting one of the biggest names in striking is just too much to pass up, so he signed up to step in for Rodtang. It was a gutsy move as it was just on a few days' notice and also at a higher weight class.
As much as the odds were stacked against him, Williams made sure to try and rise to the challenge. Mini T started the fight by moving well inside the ring, using his terrific footwork to evade his opponent. Superlek, on the other hand, exhibited great patience in waiting for a chance to pounce on his prey. He enjoyed some success with his leg kicks and teeps, which started connecting early on.
In the second round, Superlek leveled up the intensity of his attacks. He became more aggressive in his pursuit of Williams and started landing more of his trademark kicks. It all paid off in the third round when he knocked down Williams twice. The first was a massive KD that was caused by a head kick that was a counter to an overhand right by Williams. It was Superlek’s knee that connected and dropped Williams hard. He was clearly hurt, but bravely got up to fight on.
Superlek knew that it was only a matter of time so he upped the intensity of his attack. Williams did manage to beat the 10-count, but it was clear that another solid hit will put him down for good. Superlek charged forward with a step-in knee, then rained punches on Williams until a right cross dropped him again, this time for good. The referee had no choice but to put a stop to the contest at 1:55 of the 3rd round.
So it was a successful first defense of Superlek’s ONE Flyweight World Kickboxing Title. Not only that but he was also given a $50,000.00 performance bonus for the exciting way in which he finished the fight. The win raised his combined Muay Thai and Kickboxing record to 133 - 29.
Afterward, he thanks his opponent, praising Williams for his courage and toughness. He also stated that he has no one in particular in mind to defend the title against, but if it is Rodtang, he will be ready.
He added though, that he would like to challenge Rodtang for his ONE Muay Thai World Flyweight Championship. He said, “I believe that I deserve to challenge for that title. Since he is considered number one in Muay Thai, I would like to be his next challenger for that title.”
That is indeed a very real possibility since he is already listed as the number one challenger, but Rodtang would have to get past his next challenger in Edgar Tabares on ONE Fight Night 10 on May 5 to be held in the US.
One thing is assured though, whenever and wherever that fight between Superlek and Rodtang happens, there will surely be fireworks throughout the fight and for how long it lasts. But for now, Superlek is just enjoying his spectacular but well-earned victory.
