ONE Championship: Rodtang Jitmuangnon on United States training tour ahead of ONE 161

ONE Championship Muay Thai phenom Rodtang Jitmuangnon returns to the circle on August 26 when the promotion makes its highly anticipated debut on Amazon Prime Video. ‘The Iron Man’ wil face Savvas Michael in the semifinal round of the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix.

The reigning ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion advanced to the second round of the tournament with a picture-perfect performance against ONE debutant Jacob Smith at ONE 157 this past May.

Ahead of his bout with Michael, Rodtang Jitmuangnon is staying busy by sharing his combat sports knowledge with a handful of lucky trainees in Texas.

In a post on Instagram, Rodtang shared video clips of himself with groups of students who are reveling in the opportunity to learn from one of the best strikers in the world today.

Check out the Instagram post below:

Beginning with Muay Thai at the age of eight to help earn money for his family in Thailand, Rodtang excelled in the sport at a rapid pace. At the age of 14, he moved to Bangkok to join the Jitmuangnon gym.

By the time he was 20, ‘The Iron Man’ had amassed countless victories in Muay Thai and earned a ONE Championship contract just months following his 21st birthday.

Since entering the promotion, Rodtang has remained unbeaten in Muay Thai and climbed to the top of the mountain when he defeated division rival Jonathan Haggerty for the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Championship at ONE: Dawn of Heroes in August 2019.

Rodtang Jitmuangnon looks to cement his legacy in the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix

A ONE world champion and one of the best pound-for-pound Muay Thai fighters in the world today, ‘The Iron Man’ has little left to prove despite only being 24 years old.

That didn’t stop Rodtang Jitmuangnon from jumping at the opportunity to compete in the promotion’s latest World Grand Prix tournament in an effort to establish himself as the best Muay Thai fighter in the sport today.

While speaking to ONE Championship, Rodtang Jitmuangnon discussed his motivation for entering the tournament and gave a preview of what comes next should he emerge victorious when it is all said and done:

“I didn’t want to wait because I still have my Muay Thai skills, and I still want to fight. That’s why I chose to join the World Grand Prix. But my goal is to join MMA. My plan is to finish this World Grand Prix and then fully join MMA.”

Rodtang got his first taste of mixed martial arts when he competed in a critically-acclaimed special rules super-fight against 12-time flyweight MMA world champion Demetrious Johnson at ONE X this past March.

Should everything go according to Rodtang’s plan, we may see him attempt to conquer another sport in the very near future.