Takeru Vs. Black Panther, Akimoto Vs. Ennahachi Booked For ONE Friday Fights 81
A pair of incredible kickboxing battles have been added to the massive ONE Friday Fights 81 card on September 27.
The Asia primetime event at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, will feature the return of Takeru “The Natural Born Crusher” Segawa in a flyweight tilt with Black Panther and a bantamweight clash between former ONE World Champions Hiroki Akimoto and Ilias Ennahachi.
Both matches were confirmed at a press conference in Tokyo, Japan, on Wednesday, July 31.
Takeru will make his sophomore appearance in the world’s largest martial arts organization following his thrilling debut against Superlek Kiatmoo9 at ONE 165 in January.
The Japanese superstar had earned a reputation as one of the greatest pound-for-pound strikers on the planet in his homeland, and he came to challenge “The Kicking Machine” for the ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Title.
Takeru lived up to his reputation in a fierce encounter, but he came up short against the Thai luminary after five rounds of courage and skill from both men.
Eager to earn another crack at Superlek, “The Natural Born Crusher” knows he must get back on the winning track and secure his first victory in ONE Championship.
However, he’ll have his hands full with the surging Black Panther.
The Team Mehdi Zatout product is on an impressive three-fight winning streak in ONE, including a memorable knockout of Ali Saldoev in his latest appearance at ONE Fight Night 23 in early July.
Black Panther knows that Takeru’s worldwide fame will bring a huge amount of interest to their matchup, and if he can spring an upset, he will instantly join the flyweight kickboxing division’s upper echelon.
Akimoto and Ennahachi will collide in a bout that will have massive implications for the stacked bantamweight kickboxing ranks.
Former ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Champion Akimoto took the crown in March 2022, but he lost it to Petchtanong Petchfergus later that November.
The current #2-ranked contender returned from a layoff to face Chinese legend Wei Rui at ONE Fight Night 22 this past May, and he knows victory is crucial in order to stay in title contention.
Meanwhile, former ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Champion Ennahachi is back in action as he chases gold in a second division.
After two successful defenses – which included handing Superlek his only loss in ONE – the Dutch-Moroccan star vacated the flyweight belt for a move up to bantamweight.
He hasn’t appeared in ONE since his successful debut in the weight class at ONE Friday Fights 6 in February 2023, where he knocked out Aliasghar Ghodratisaraskan. But now, he’s ready to resume his charge against one of the division’s top dogs.
Both fights have the potential to offer up new top contenders in their respective divisions, and given that all four athletes are proven entities at the elite level, fans can expect to witness striking of the highest caliber.
Stay tuned to onefc.com for more news and announcements about ONE Friday Fights 81 on September 27.
