ONE 165: Lineker’s presence at weigh in only drama ahead of Superlek and Takeru fight in Tokyo
- Superlek Kiatmoo9 will put his ONE Championship flyweight kickboxing title on the line against Takeru Segawa in Tokyo
- Former bantamweight MMA champion John Lineker tips the scales at 151lbs, but won’t be needed as 22 fighters all make weight
With Takeru Segawa making his promotional debut and Superlek Kiatmoo9 having missed weight for his previous fight there was some intrigue heading into the ONE 165 weigh ins on Saturday.
The drama will have to wait until Sunday though, with all 22 fighters on the card passing the tests and checks.
ONE Championship has a unique system in which fighter’s hydration levels are checked to ensure they are not cutting dangerous amounts of weight. This was Takeru’s first time competing under the ONE Championship ruleset that dictates a fighter’s hydration levels are checked to ensure they are not cutting dangerous amounts of weight, and he came in at 134.75lbs, just under the flyweight limit.
Superlek, who will put his flyweight kickboxing title on the line at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, tipped the scales at 134.5lbs.
In his previous encounter, Superlek missed weight by 5lbs ahead of his flyweight Muay Thai title fight with Rodtang Jitmuangnon. He won the fight but missed out on the belt and a US$100,000 bonus.
So, there was relief all around when the champion made weight at the first attempt. Superlek stepped up as a late replacement to face Takeru after original opponent Rodtang withdrew with injury earlier this month.
More intriguing was the presence at the weigh ins of former bantamweight MMA champion John Lineker. He was announced as being a potential replacement and tipped the scales at 151lbs.
Given every fighter made weight, Lineker’s services will presumably not be required. At 151lbs, he came in around midway between the promotion’s bantamweight and featherweight limits, so it wasn’t clear exactly who the Brazilian was serving as an alternative for.
