WATCH: Rodtang and Superlek share heartfelt moment as ‘The Iron Man’ was forced to withdraw from ONE 173 due to illness

Rodtang Jitmuangnon may have been forced to withdraw from his scheduled world title defense at ONE 173 inside the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. But the Thai megastar was in attendance to support his fellow countryman, 'The Kicking Machine' Superlek Kiatmoo9, before he took to the Circle against Yuki Yoza.

In a short clip uploaded by ONE Championship onto its official Instagram account (@onechampionship), the former ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion was seen exchanging a few words with the flyweight kickboxing king.

Watch the short interaction between the Thai titans here:

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Unfortunately for Superlek, ONE 173 proved to be another night to forget in the office for the once seemingly unstoppable striking wizard.

'The Kicking Machine' was outgunned by Yuki Yoza during their three-round bantamweight kickboxing tiff by unanimous decision, which marked his second successive defeat on the global stage after dropping another decision loss to ONE bantamweight Muay Thai king Nabil Anane at ONE 172 in Saitama this past March.

Meanwhile, Rodtang, who was hospitalized shortly after his weight cut despite making weight and passing the hydration limit, sat in the stands to watch the organization's blockbuster return to 'The Land of the Rising Sun.'

Per ONE Championship's official website, his battle against Nong-O Hama will be rescheduled to a later date.

As always, stay tuned to Sportskeeda MMA for any updates on ONE Championship.

Rodtang and Takeru staredown inside the Circle at ONE 173

Former three-division K-1 world champion Takeru Segawa, who had suffered defeats under the ONE banner to Rodtang and Superlek, returned to winning ways at ONE 173.

'Natural Born Krusher' saw off Denis Puric via TKO in the second round on his way to a US$50,000 performance bonus and a second promotional win.

Shortly after the triumph, the Team Vasileus man declared that his next fight would be the final dance of his career, and he called for a Rodtang rematch.

Both men verbally agreed to run it back during the live broadcast of the spectacle, and it's now up to the ONE matchmakers to sign them up for what could be another striking treat for fight fans.

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Edited by Saiyed Adeem Karim