‘The Iron Man’ Rodtang Jitmuangnon stepped away from his typical sport, of Muay Thai, and fought in a Kickboxing battle last night at ONE Fight Night 6. The Thai-born athlete was able to batter ‘The Eagle of Yi’ Jiduo Yibu to earn a unanimous decision win.
See below for highlights from the Rodtang match:
Rodtang wants ONE gold in Kickboxing
At ONE Fight Night 6, the ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Champion Ilias Ennahachi was originally booked to defend his throne against Thailand’s Superlek and Rodtang was to fight Daniel Puertas. Due to weight issues, Ennahachi dropped out of the fight and vacated his world title. Puertas was then moved to fight Superlek for the vacant kickboxing title, and ‘The Iron Man’ was then to fight China’s Jiduo Yibu. Both ‘The Iron Man’ and Superlek won their bouts.
‘The Iron Man’ Rodtang has made his intentions clear, he wants a world title in kickboxing and then MMA. Superlek and ‘The Iron Man’ nearly fought last year during the ONE Muay Thai Grand Prix. Due to weight issues, ‘The Iron Man’ was unable to compete in the tournament. Superlek vs Rodtang is a fight combat sports fans have been demanding. Both are phenoms in Muay Thai, and the two may fight for a kickboxing world title later this year.
‘The Iron Man’ is only 25-year-old has earned a whopping 270 career victories and holds the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world title. The Thai athlete began his Muay Thai career when he was only 7 years old as a way to support his family. ‘The Kicking Machine’ Superlek Kiatmoo9, the ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Champion, began his professional career at the age of 8 and has since earned a record of 131-29.
Superlek and Rodtang are on a collision course. The two Thai strikers will likely fight for the Kickboxing throne in 2023.