ONE Fight Night 12: Three Keys To Victory For Superlek vs Khalilov

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Bangkok, July 12: Just three weeks after fighting inside Bangkok, Thailand's Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Champion Superlek Kiatmoo9 returns this Saturday (July 15) in the main event of ONE Fight Night 12.

Superlek will battle hungry Russian star Tagir Khalilov in a short-notice Muay Thai tilt after scoring a stunning victory at ONE Friday Fights 22 over WBC Muay Thai World Champion Nabil Anane.

Victory for the Thai standout could see him move to an incredible eight-fight winning streak. With that, let's take a look at three keys to victory for Superlek at ONE Fight Night 12.

1. Negate Khalilov's Pressure: Khalilov has earned the moniker of "The Thai Killer" as a result of his last two outings, putting away Chorfah Tor Sangtiennoi and Black Panther with first-round knockouts, and one of the reasons for that is his relentless pressure.

"Samingpri" will most likely bring that approach into his bout with Superlek, so the Thai must anticipate it from the get-go. "The Kicking Machine" has to combat it by meeting Khalilov in the middle to stop him in his tracks, denying the Russian the chance to control the fight.

Superlek did this well in his battle with Walter Goncalves at ONE on Prime Video I. "The Kicking Machine" chased down the Brazilian brawler, hurting him with brutal elbows to finish the fight.

2. Strike First, Strike Often: The upcoming clash between the two strikers will truly be a battle of wills, and whoever imposes his first will find himself with the advantage moving forward in this flyweight encounter.

Superlek recently followed this plan en route to victory at ONE Friday Fights 22 just three weeks ago to defeat Anane inside two minutes of the first round, and to go down this road once more will be fruitful for Thai standout.

3. Control The Center Of The Ring: Across Superlek's tenure in ONE, he has managed to greatly utilize his space - whether it be in the Circle or the ring. It's a tool he must put to work once more in this weekend's main event.

"The Kicking Machine" will find great success with his leg kicks against Khalilov, and keeping control of the center of the ring will allow him to dictate the flow of the fight. It will also be foreign to Khalilov, who has rarely been put on the backfoot in ONE.

If Superlek can force Khalilov to play his game, it will entice "Samingpri" to spring to life in the fight - and desperate moves can spell disaster against someone like Superlek.