ONE Championship

Nadaka Yoshinari will share the spotlight with one of his own idols on the biggest night of his kickboxing career so far.

The reigning ONE Atomweight Muay Thai World Champion defends his crown against dangerous challenger Rifdean Masdor in the co-main event of ONE SAMURAI 4 inside Tokyo’s Ariake Arena on Saturday, October 17. That same night, retired kickboxing legend Takeru Segawa will be formally inducted into the ONE Hall of Fame, a fitting reunion for two fighters whose paths first crossed at ONE SAMURAI 1.

Nadaka successfully defended his Muay Thai title against Songchainoi Kiatsongrit on that same card, sharing the bill with the final bout of Takeru’s storied career. He has long admired the kickboxing icon, and the memory of that farewell still resonates with him ahead of October 17.

“It was his retirement fight, plus a revenge match against a guy who’d beaten him before, and it was also the main event of the show – every kind of pressure you could stack on someone,” Nadaka said. “And under all that, he put together the best version of himself, the best performance of his career.”

Nadaka draws on Takeru’s example ahead of Rifdean defense

Fight-week obligations kept Nadaka from watching Takeru’s finish live from the arena floor, a regret he still carries into this new chapter of his own career.

That admiration has not translated into imitation. Rather than chase a version of stardom that belongs to someone else, Nadaka intends to lean on the same technical foundation that has carried him to a 42-fight unbeaten streak heading into Rifdean.

“I don’t think I have that kind of pull yet, that ability to move the whole scene by myself,” he said. “What matters more for me is not losing myself, sticking firmly to my own style.”

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