MMA Knockout

ONE Championship Rebooks Takeru vs. Rodtang for ONE 172 at Saitama Super Arena

ONE 172 will also feature a fight for the vacant men's flyweight MMA belt in the co-main event.

Drew Beaupre

(ONE Championship)

Two of the world’s most decorated strikers will finally meet in a kickboxing superfight when ONE Championship makes its debut at Saitama Super Arena.

ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang

ONE Fight Night 26 at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand closed out the non-Friday Fights portion of the promotion’s 2024 schedule earlier this month, leaving fans to look ahead to a year-opening ONE Fight Night 27 card on January 10 that boasts a pair of huge title fights.

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Multiple title bouts have also already been confirmed for ONE 170 and ONE 171: Qatar, and now ONE Championship has informed MMA Knockout that promotion will officially make its first trip to Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan on March 23 for ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang.

The two striking stars were slated to meet at ONE 165 last January before Rodtang Jitmuangnon was forced to withdraw from the event due to injury, and his countryman Superlek subsequently stepped in to face Takeru Segawa and successfully defended his ONE Flyweight Kickboxing title via unanimous decision.

Joshua Pacio vs. Jarred Brooks Trilogy Fight Booked for ONE 171: Qatar

Takeru rebounded from that result with a win over Thant Zin while Rodtang went on to score back-to-back wins over Denis Purić and Jacob Smith, but “The Iron Man” was also stripped of his ONE Flyweight Muay Thai belt when he missed weight ahead of the fight with Smith at ONE 169 in November.

Moraes vs. Wakamatsu 2 For Vacant Flyweight Belt

The kickboxing superfight between Takeru and Rodtang will serve as the five-round main event for ONE 172, and ONE Championship gold will be on the line in the co-main event when three-time champion Adriano Moraes meets Yuya Wakamatsu in a rematch for the promotion’s newly-vacant men's flyweight MMA title following the retirement of Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson.

Moraes is coming off a submission-win in another rematch with Danny Kingad at ONE 169 and will try to claim the ONE Championship flyweight belt for a fourth time when he meets Wakamatsu, who previously challenged the Brazilian for the title in 2022 and is currently on a three-fight win streak after defeating Gilbert Nakatani at ONE Fight Night 26.

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ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang will take place on March 23 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, and with the incredible main and co-main events now set combat sports fans should be on the lookout for more fight announcements in the near future.

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Drew Beaupre
DREW BEAUPRE

Drew is an MMA writer that regularly watches regional events in addition to major promotions such as the UFC, PFL, Bellator, and ONE Championship. He joined MMA Knockout when it was founded in 2023.

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