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ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon has looked almost unstoppable during his lengthy world title reign, but his next match will have a different kind of atmosphere to it.
Rodtang will defend his world title against ONE strawweight Muay Thai world champion Joseph Lasiri at ONE on Prime Video 4 this Friday at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
ONE on Prime Video 4 will be streamed live on Amazon Prime Video and the streaming platform’s subscribers can already watch the card for free.
This will be the first time that Rodtang will defend his world title against another world champion. Nevertheless, the Thai superstar has proven time and again that he is in a class all his own.
That said, here are Rodtang Jitmuangnon’s keys to victory against Joseph Lasiri.
#3. Force Lasiri into a dogfight, cut off the cage
Rodtang Jitmuangnon has always operated under one speed, and that is at maximum throttle. There is, however, another way where the Muay Thai star can augment that devastating pace.
Lasiri is known as ‘The Hurricane’ and that is due to his blinding movement inside the circle. Rodtang, though, has all the capabilities in matching up that energy.
Rodtang is an underrated ring general and he has to use that agility of his to put the circle to his advantage. He has to create openings and one way to do that is to cut off Lasiri’s path by sheer smarts.
In Muay Thai’s fast-paced nature, staying stationary in attack is almost certain but that is also dangerous. Rodtang has to capitalize on his footwork to get better angles and put Lasiri on the backfoot.
Once he has Lasiri in his pocket, then Rodtang can unleash the attack that has made him a star the world over.
#2. Respect Lasiri's power, don't take clean shots, don’t be Rodtang Jitmuangnon
Joseph Lasiri may have had a poor start to his ONE Championship career, but the Italian-Moroccan wonder practically erased that notion. His last two fights showed how much Lasiri has improved and it’s obvious he’ll be bringing that power at ONE on Prime Video 4.
Rodtang Jitmuangnon, meanwhile, is an immovable object capable of absorbing hellacious amounts of damage without feeling its effects. While his adamantium chin makes for amazing highlights, he might just protect that against Lasiri this time around.
Lasiri is no slouch when it comes to power. He even forced Prajanchai PK.Saenchai to quit on the stool in his world title victory at ONE 157 this past May.
It may not be his style, but Rodtang should go the conventional approach and respect Lasiri’s offense.
Although he doesn’t show it much, Rodtang Jitmuangnon has impressive head movement and is capable of dodging multiple shots that come his way. He needs to be cautious of Lasiri and not stand square in front of the line of fire.
#1. Overwhelm with volume and power
While the first two entries concentrated on defense and movement, this last one is right up Rodtang’s wheelhouse.
Rodtang Jitmuangnon captivated the worldwide audience not just with his invincible aura, but with his electrifying offensive style. ‘The Iron Man’ is ONE Championship’s winningest striker with 11 wins across Muay Thai and kickboxing, the most in the promotion.
He’s also 4-0 in world title fights and he tacked on those wins through overwhelming offense.
Yes, I did write that Rodtang should be wary of Lasiri but that doesn’t mean he’ll just dance around and evade the whole fight. Lasiri will obviously strike the first chance he gets, but he won’t be doing that if Rodtang gets his offense in first.
Rodtang is a volume striker, but he also packs supreme power in those strikes. There is an element of fear whenever Rodtang goes on the attack, and it’s almost a certainty that he’ll be taking the win the moment he goes on the offensive.
The moment the fight starts, it would be imperative for Rodtang to dictate the fight as quickly as possible. He has to use that crazy speed of his to overrun Lasiri inside the Circle and prevent the Italian-Moroccan from getting any offense of his own.
