Interim ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion, Superbon, has risen to the top of the global kickboxing rankings with a unique brand of Thai-styled kickboxing. His unorthodox methods, developed in Bangkok’s elite stadiums and mastered through some of the world’s most prestigious elimination tournaments, have made him a puzzle that many of the world’s top kickboxers have tried, and failed, to solve.
In this article, we are going to break down Superbon’s unique approach to kickboxing. We’ll discuss aspects of his fighting prowess including his range management, preferred weapons, and defensive strategies that all seem to negate kickboxing’s punch-heavy style rather than embrace it.
But first, let us take a brief look at Superbon’s resume, both as a Nak Muay fighting in Bangkok’s elite stadiums and the accolades he has collected in his career so far.
Superbon’s Impressive Resume
Superbon is a name that fans of ONE Championship have revered since he was first signed to the promotion back in 2020. After defeating a longtime rival, Sittichai Sitsongpeenong in his debut bout, the multi-sport striker faced the phenomenal, Giorgio Petrosyan for the inaugural ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Championship and won the bout with a jaw-breaking head kick KO that won him, not only the title, but ONE’s KO of the year award for 2021.
It may surprise many fans to know that despite amassing a whopping 151 fights in his career so far, Superbon has only been fighting under kickboxing rules since 2015. Prior to this, he was hugely successful in Thailand’s stadium circuit, fighting in the famed Lumpinee and Omnoi Stadiums and even fighting his way to runner-up in Thailand’s prestigious 2011 Isuzu Cup Tournament.
He faced some of the best fighters on the circuit including Singdam Kiatmookao, Saenchai, and Petchtanong Petchfergus before making his kickboxing debut in the 2015 Kunlun Fight World Max Tournament. He made it to the semi-finals before being defeated by fellow countryman and rival, Sittichai Sitsongpeenong. Despite the setback, he returned to the tournament the following year, knocking out Jomthong Chuwattana in the third round of the final to become the 2016 Tournament champion. By 2022, only seven years into his kickboxing career, Superbon was regarded as the best 70kg and #2 pound-for-pound kickboxer in the world by Combat Press.
Over the course of his career, he has also accumulated a wealth of accolades including 3x IFMA Gold Medals and the 2018 Enfusion 8-Man Championship.
Superbon’s Unique Kickboxing Style
Though the two sports may look similar to a layman, Kickboxing and Muay Thai have entirely different rulesets and scoring criteria that make crossing between them incredibly difficult.
Kickboxing tends to favor volume and fast-paced combinations featuring heavy hands while excluding standard Muay Thai techniques such as catching kicks, elbows, and clinching. Traditionally trained Muay Thai fighters often struggle under the ruleset unless they adapt their style to match but, miraculously, Superbon has managed to become one of the best kickboxers on the planet whilst still fighting in a predominantly “Thai” style that favors powerful kicks, teeps, and knees whilst avoiding boxing almost entirely.
This style has 2 simple yet effective keys to victory that we can see in many of Superbon’s fights on ONE Championship: His range management, which allows him to fire off his scoring kicks without being countered, and his punching defenses, which set up his spectacular right knee.
Punching in volume and with heavy forward aggression is a strategy endemic to kickboxing. The ruleset and scoring make it so that many fighters will unload with heavy hands, damaging their opponent and off-balancing them, before they throw a kick. Rather than utilizing his hands, Superbon uses this heavy-handed strategy against his opponents by setting himself out of range and kicking as they move forward to strike.
In fights against orthodox opponents, such as Marat Grigorian, Superbon favors his left leg and will switch kick the body or teep them as they attempt to walk into punching range. The teep disrupts rhythm and keeps his opponents from striking while the switch kick inflicts damage which racks up a lead on the scorecards.
Against southpaw fighters, such as Giorgio Petrosyan and Sittichai he works predominantly off of his right leg, interchanging between high roundhouse kicks and stabbing teeps for the same effect.
Regardless of his opponent’s stance, Superbon will reset himself outside of their punching range after his kicks, waiting for them to press forward so he can repeat the strategy.
You can see him use this strategy to frustrate and negate Giorgio Petrosyan during their iconic bout on ONE: First Strike in 2021.
Defending Against Punches
If his opponent manages to break through his kicking range, Superbon will posture out with his lead arm, with a variation of the jab that he pushes into his opponent’s face, driving them backward and eliminating the danger of punches. This bracing movement is usually followed by a powerful rear knee that, with his glove in their face, his opponents cannot see coming.
If his opponent is able to push through this lead-armed defense, Superbon utilizes a shell-guard. He holds his gloves against his temples to protect his face and jaw and then presses his chest and head right against his opponent, negating their ability to throw punches with power. From a fan’s perspective, it almost looks like he is clinching, which is a common way that Thai boxers will traditionally negate an opponent’s ability to punch. Though, as clinching is illegal in kickboxing, he won’t lock onto their neck. Instead, he will use his forearms to push his opponent back into a range where he can fire his trademark, right knee, before either retreating from range or returning to “clinch” range to defend against any counter punches which may follow.
You can see Superbon use these defensive strategies to great effect in his second bout against Marat Grigorian on ONE Friday Fights 58.
In Summary
Superbon has risen to the top of the world kickboxing rankings whilst maintaining a very “Thai” based fight style. This simple, yet effective technique negates many of his opponents’ heavy-handed styles, using their aggression against them to create openings for his powerful kicks and knees.
Though they are incredibly simple, Superbon’s range management and punching defenses have posed a dangerous puzzle that most adversaries have been unable to solve.
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