Referee Kritsada waves off Superlek’s rematch with Abdulla Dayakaev after the Thai star suffered a knee injury (left); Superlek later at hospital in a wheelchair with his leg in a cast (right)
Superlek Kiatmoo9’s October 17 world title fight with Jonathan Di Bella now appears highly unlikely to go ahead after his team confirmed the Thai star will need time away to treat the knee injury that ended his rematch with Abdulla Dayakaev.
The ONE Championship flyweight kickboxing king was taken to hospital for checks after his right leg buckled during an exchange 39 seconds into the second round of their bantamweight Muay Thai bout at The Inner Circle 25 on Friday night in Bangkok.
Superlek immediately fell to the canvas and pointed to his knee, prompting referee Kritsada to wave off the contest and award Dayakaev a TKO victory.
Dayakaev was visibly subdued after the stoppage and opened his backstage scrum with Thai media by wishing his opponent well.
“I wish him the best recovery,” he said. “I don’t want to fight this guy again – he is a very tough guy.”
The 24-year-old Russian said Superlek had inspired him long before they became rivals.
“He is a legend,” Dayakaev added. “I watched him when I was a kid. He was a big motivation for me.”
Abdulla Dayakaev checks on Superlek as officials and medical staff attend to the injured fighter following the stoppage
Sawikrom “Coach Hook” Limanon, Superlek’s sports scientist and a key member of his corner, later posted a photograph with the 30-year-old in a wheelchair with his leg in a cast at hospital.
“We are going to take time to rest and treat this injury so he can come back as a better version,” Limanon wrote on Facebook.
He added that the opening round had shown Superlek was back to his best and vowed that the team would not give up.
No diagnosis or recovery timetable has been made public, and it is not yet clear whether surgery will be required.
Unconfirmed reports on Thai social media suggested Superlek had suffered an ACL tear, though neither the fighter, his camp nor ONE had confirmed a diagnosis at the time of publication.
With only 10 weeks until the fight, the injury is likely to force a change to Superlek’s scheduled defence against strawweight kickboxing champion Di Bella at ONE Samurai 4 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo.
Superlek smiles from his hospital bed alongside sports scientist Sawikrom _Coach Hook Limanon following the fight
The bout was formally announced by ONE Championship on Thursday, barely a day before Superlek suffered the injury.
ONE has not announced a change to the October 17 card, while Di Bella had not publicly addressed the injury at the time of writing – though Japanese contender Taiki Naito told the Bangkok Post he would gladly step in to face the Italian-Canadian for an interim title in Tokyo.
Di Bella, who called for the “risky” fight after retaining his strawweight belt against Zhang Peimian last month, told the Bangkok Post on Thursday he had been surprised but excited to receive the contract for his first fight at flyweight.
Seconds before the Superlek-Dayakaev fight began, he posted on X “please no injuries” – and was then playfully accused by fans of “jinxing” his Tokyo title fight after the Thai went down hurt.
Superlek was due to return to flyweight for the first time in more than two years and make his first defence of the kickboxing title since beating Takeru Segawa in January 2024.
Abdulla Dayakaev throws a low kick at Superlek during their bantamweight Muay Thai rematch at The Inner Circle 25 in Bangkok
ONE reported in May that he had been quietly pushing through an undisclosed knee injury during a difficult period in his career. It is not known whether Friday’s setback is connected.
Superlek had looked sharp in the opening round, landing hard low kicks and briefly stunning Dayakaev with an elbow before the Russian increased the pressure in the second.
Dayakaev acknowledged the elbow had caught him clean and called the opening round close, but insisted he had been preparing to raise his pace when the injury occurred.
The result improved his record to 17-3 and gave him two wins over Superlek, having taken a contentious split decision in their first meeting in May.
That verdict demanded an immediate rematch after Dayakaev missed weight by 3.2lb and scored an early knockdown before surviving Superlek’s late comeback.
Dayakaev instead called for another meeting with ONE bantamweight Muay Thai champion Rambolek Chor Ajalaboon, who stopped him in the second round in January.
Referee Kritsada raises Abdulla Dayakaev’s hand after the Russian was awarded a second-round TKO victory over Superlek
“I respect him,” Dayakaev said. “He is a very smart fighter, but I believe this time I can beat him.”
He nevertheless hopes Superlek can recover for the Di Bella fight and return to the division where he holds ONE gold.
“Thank you, Superlek, for everything – for the two fights and for giving me more motivation,” Dayakaev said. “I want to see you fight in kickboxing at 135lb. I don’t want to fight you again, but I respect you.”