"I expect him to pick up a lot of things from that" - strawweight king Joshua Pacio believes Rodtang Jitmuangnon has future in MMA

Reigning ONE strawweight champion Joshua Pacio is confident that Muay Thai superstar Rodtang Jitmuangnon is fully capable of transitioning into MMA.

Rodtang, who holds the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world title, featured in a mixed-rules fight with mixed martial arts legend Demetrious Johnson at ONE X, ONE Championship's 10-year anniversary spectacle, last month.

The match was fought under Muay Thai rules in the first and third rounds and had the MMA ruleset slated for the second and fourth frames.

While Rodtang used his striking to dictate the flow in the opening round, Johnson eventually slapped in a deep rear-naked choke to get a second-round submission victory.

Joshua Pacio believes that the fight will have given Rodtang valuable MMA experience, even with the loss. In an interview with ONE Championship, the strawweight king said:

“I believe [Rodtang would] do well if he wants to explore MMA. He’s certainly learned a lot in that single round against DJ, and he won’t get that experience anywhere. You can pick up a lot of things just by training and rolling with DJ, so what more if you’re up against him? I expect him to pick up a lot of things from that. That’s a great lesson for him.”

Rodtang is already a rockstar in the striking arts with a Muay Thai record of 267-42-10. He’s also won titles across other promotions outside of ONE Championship.

Johnson, however, knew that he’d have the advantage over Rodtang in the grappling discipline. Rodtang was in dangerous territory in the second round, with Johnson utilizing his wrestling to his advantage.

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Joshua Pacio was in awe of Rodtang Jitmuangnon’s resilience

Johnson, a natural grappler, got in a few shots of his own against Rodtang in the first round of their mixed-rules fight. While it was Rodtang who dictated the flow, Johnson held his own against ‘The Iron Man' on the feet.

Upon watching the fight, Joshua Pacio was in awe of how Rodtang just brushed off Johnson’s strikes.

“I sort of expected DJ to come away with the win, but that first round [of Muay Thai] was amazing. Rodtang ate a lot of shots, and I read one comment from DJ that he’s really got a chin, so he really made sure to finish it in the [MMA] second round to avoid the third round. It was a great match.”

Fans will no doubt be eager to see how Rodtang can improve ahead of another dip into the waters of MMA.