Former K-1 champion Yuki Yoza can barely find words to describe what he experienced at ONE 173, but "amazing" comes close.
The 27-year-old Japanese kickboxer delivered the most significant victory of his career with a dominant unanimous decision over pound-for-pound great 'The Kicking Machine' Superlek Kiatmoo9 in their bantamweight kickboxing showdown on Sunday, November 16, inside Tokyo's Ariake Arena.
During a post-fight clip where he touched on his triumph over the ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion, the Team Vasileus representative tried to capture the surreal nature of competing on that stage against that opponent in that moment.
"It was incredible. It was amazing when he entered the ring, before he entered the ring, when he climbed onto the ring, and during the match. It was just amazing," Yuki Yoza shared, before adding, "I said that at the press conference earlier, too. It was a feeling I'd never felt before. Thinking about it now."
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His victory on home soil extended his winning streak to 13 fights and improved his record to 22-2, positioning him as a legitimate contender for ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Jonathan Haggerty's throne.
More significantly, it marked the second consecutive defeat for Superlek at bantamweight following his loss to Nabil Anane at ONE 172 in March.
Watch Yoza's clip on his official YouTube channel below:
Yuki Yoza says he had 'no problem' dealing with Superlek's feared kicking game
Superlek is known as 'The Kicking Machine' for a good reason. The Bangkok-based star has used his signature weapon to beat many opponents throughout his glorious career.
However, Yuki Yoza felt that the Thai fighter's world-class kicking game wasn't as good as advertised, particularly because he's more used to competing in a weight bracket below.
"At first, we were both very wary [about each other's weapons," he said when analyzing the opening exchanges, before revealing that once Superlek started connecting, it didn't really catch him off guard.
"The power of his kicks was no problem. Fighters like Petchtanong and Elbrus Osmanov, who mainly fight in the bantamweight class, naturally have more power," he said in the same clip uploaded on his YouTube channel.
ONE 173: Superbon vs. Noiri went down via global pay-per-view inside Tokyo's Ariake Arena on Sunday, November 16.