The first thing an amateur notices about Superlek Kiatmoo9 is the sound. A roundhouse from a gym regular goes “thwap.” A Superlek kick on the pads goes off like a car door slammed by someone who has had a very bad day, and then it goes off again before the pad holder has finished wincing. I have spent a good number of evenings watching his fights with a notebook, trying to work out how a man who stands 5 feet 7 inches can make grown professionals look as if they are standing in a wind tunnel. What follows is my attempt to report back.
The piece is part scouting report, part career history, written by someone whose own left kick could politely be called decorative.
Who Superlek is, for the newcomer
His real name is Manachai Yamsiri. He was born on November 6, 1995, in Prakhon Chai, a district of Buriram province in Thailand’s northeast, which is to Muay Thai roughly what western Pennsylvania used to be to football linemen. He fights out of the Kiatmoo9 camp, and the family connection is literal: his uncle is Singdam Kiatmoo9, a four-time Lumpinee Stadium champion.
The record books list well over 170 professional bouts. The titles started early, with the Thailand 105 lb belt in 2011. In 2012, at 17, he was named the Sports Authority of Thailand’s Fighter of the Year, the top annual honor in the country’s national sport. By the end of 2013 he held Lumpinee belts at 115 and 118 lb. He later added a WBC Muaythai world title at 130 lb in 2016.
Then came ONE Championship, which is where most North American fans first met him.
The career in one table
Superlek’s international run has more twists than a Bangkok taxi ride at rush hour, so here it is laid out plainly. These are the fights that shaped his reputation, not every bout.
| Date | Opponent | Event | Result |
| Feb 26, 2021 | Ilias Ennahachi | ONE: Fists of Fury | Loss, decision (flyweight kickboxing title fight) |
| Aug 27, 2022 | Walter Goncalves | ONE on Prime Video 1 | Win, KO (elbow), round 1 |
| Dec 3, 2022 | Panpayak Jitmuangnon | ONE 164, Manila | Win, split decision |
| Jan 14, 2023 | Daniel Puertas | ONE Fight Night 6 | Win, decision, vacant flyweight kickboxing title |
| Sep 22, 2023 | Rodtang Jitmuangnon | ONE Friday Fights 34 | Win, decision (Superlek missed weight) |
| Jan 28, 2024 | Takeru Segawa | ONE 165, Tokyo | Win, decision, kickboxing title defense |
| Sep 6, 2024 | Jonathan Haggerty | ONE 168, Denver | Win, KO (elbow), 0:49 of round 1, bantamweight Muay Thai title |
| Mar 23, 2025 | Nabil Anane | ONE 172, Saitama | Loss, decision (stripped after failing hydration) |
| Nov 16, 2025 | Yuki Yoza | ONE 173, Tokyo | Loss, decision |
| May 15, 2026 | Abdulla Dayakaev | ONE Friday Fights 154 | Loss, split decision |
| Aug 7, 2026 | Abdulla Dayakaev | ONE: The Inner Circle 25 | Loss, TKO (knee injury), round 2 |
Read top to bottom, it tells two stories. The first is a fighter who spent three years beating almost everyone ONE put in front of him, across two rule sets and two weight classes. The second is harder to watch, and we will get there.
What makes the Kicking Machine kick
Ask any trainer what makes Superlek different and the honest short answer is “everything,” which is no help to a student. So I broke it down myself, over hours of tape, into the pieces below.
Kicks from both sides, at full weight
Superlek is orthodox, but his left leg is no mere lead-side flicker. He switches his feet and throws the left kick with the full turn of the hip, so opponents cannot simply cover one side. The right kick comes as a finisher, often after he has convinced you the left is the only thing you need to worry about. Plenty of fighters kick hard. Fewer kick hard in bunches, from either stance, while staying balanced enough to punish a counter.
Femur thinking
Thai commentators call his style Muay femur, the craftsman’s approach: reading the opponent, scoring clean, never wasting a movement. In practice this means Superlek looks almost bored in the first round. He is measuring. Once he has your timing, the kicks start arriving at the exact moment you shift weight.
If that description sounds familiar, you may be thinking of the most famous trickster of the modern era. The comparison with Saenchai’s so-called tricks is useful, because both men win with timing rather than flash. Saenchai makes you laugh. Superlek makes you wince, which is the less entertaining version of the same idea.
The elbow nobody talks about
The nickname undersells him. His other Thai nickname translates to something like “the Elbow Machine,” and ONE fans have seen why. Walter Goncalves went out to an elbow in the first round in 2022. Jonathan Haggerty, a British star Superlek had already beaten on a cut in England back in 2018, lasted 49 seconds in Denver in September 2024. The sequence is almost unfair: the kicks drag your guard low and wide, the distance closes, and a short elbow finds the gap the kicks created.
Knees and the close game
He also scores in the clinch, with quick knees to the body when opponents try to smother his kicking range. Beginners who want to study that part of his game should read up on clinch knees that actually score, since the judges’ view of a knee in Thai scoring differs from what Western viewers expect.
Three nights that built the legend
Rodtang, September 2023. The fight fans had wanted for years. On paper, this was a flyweight Muay Thai title fight, but Superlek missed weight, so Rodtang’s belt was not at stake. Superlek won a unanimous decision by refusing to stand in front of the most durable brawler in the sport. He kicked, moved, kicked again. For an amateur, the lesson was how a longer weapon beats a braver one.
Takeru, January 2024. Takeru Segawa is a national celebrity in Japan, and Superlek went to Tokyo to defend his kickboxing title against him over five rounds. No clinch, no elbows, the rule set built for Takeru. Superlek won a unanimous decision anyway. ONE later named it its 2024 Fight of the Year.
Haggerty, September 2024. ONE’s return to Denver, a bantamweight Muay Thai title, a two-division star on the other side. Forty-nine seconds. The elbow was ONE’s Knockout of the Year, and Superlek shared the promotion’s Fighter of the Year honors for 2024 with grappler Kade Ruotolo.
The scale, and then the knee
Here is the part of the story I find hardest to write in a cheerful amateur voice. Superlek had missed weight twice in 2023. In March 2025 he failed the hydration test before his unification bout with Nabil Anane, came in at 146.25 lb against a 145 lb limit, and lost his bantamweight belt on the scale. He then lost the fight on the cards too, ending a long winning run.
A decision loss to Japan’s Yuki Yoza followed in Tokyo that November. In May 2026 Abdulla Dayakaev dropped him inside the first 40 seconds at Lumpinee and held on through a ferocious Superlek rally to win a split decision. The August 7 rematch ended worse: 39 seconds into round two, his right leg buckled with nobody touching him. The diagnosis was a torn ACL. He had surgery in August, and ONE chief Chatri Sityodtong estimated six to 10 months out.
The injury cost him a planned October 17 flyweight kickboxing defense against Jonathan Di Bella in Tokyo. On September 24, 2026, ONE confirmed that Superlek had vacated that title, with the fighter saying he intends to return once his body is ready.
So as of late September 2026, the Kicking Machine is in the repair shop. He is 30 years old, which is young for a professional athlete and old for a Thai boxer with this many fights. Plenty of people have already written him off. I would not bet my hamstring, which has never kicked anyone in anger, on them being right.
How to watch him properly when he returns
Keep your eyes on his hips, not his feet. When he squares up slightly, the switch kick is coming. Watch the first round for measuring and the second for punishment. If the opponent starts covering the body with both elbows, look for the high kick or the short elbow over the top.
When he is cleared to fight, his bouts will most likely land on ONE’s Bangkok cards or its big Japanese events. The guide on where to watch Muay Thai covers the free and paid options for North American viewers, including ONE Friday Fights.
And if you train, borrow one habit from him this week: throw your left kick with the whole hip, three in a row, and check your balance after the third. You will feel how far you are from Superlek. Useful information, and humbling.
FAQ
What is Superlek’s real name?
Manachai Yamsiri. Superlek Kiatmoo9 is his ring name, with the surname taken from his gym, Kiatmoo9.
Why is Superlek called the Kicking Machine?
Because of his kick volume and power from both sides. He throws repeated, full-hip kicks from orthodox and switched stances without losing balance.
Does Superlek still hold a ONE title?
No. He lost the bantamweight Muay Thai belt on the scale in March 2025 and vacated the flyweight kickboxing title in September 2026 after tearing his ACL.
When will Superlek fight again?
No date is set. After his August 2026 surgery, ONE’s CEO estimated a six to 10 month recovery, which points to 2027 at the earliest.
