Rodtang Jitmuangnon on the excitement level of the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix

Rodtang Jitmuangnon is no stranger to tough fights. His next matches, however, might just be his most daunting.

The Thai superstar will feature in the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix to take on Jacob Smith in the quarterfinals at ONE 157: Petchmorakot vs. Vienot on May 20, which will be broadcast live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

This will be Rodtang’s first tournament in ONE Championship and he knows how challenging it could get.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post’s Tom Taylor, Rodtang Jitmuangnon said:

“I’m really excited it’s a challenging tournament.”

The ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion added that Smith is one of the most dangerous fighters in the tournament.

Smith will make his ONE Championship debut at ONE 157 and while he’s a newcomer to the promotion, he’s already found success on the British regional scene.

The 29-year-old English fighter has a 14-5-1 record and held the British Muay Thai championship before signing with ONE Championship. On Smith, Rodtang added:

“All of them, all of the fighters are good, especially my first opponent in Jacob. He’s technical and experienced.”

Catch the full interview below:

Rodtang Jitmuangnon knows everyone wants a shot at him

Of the eight contenders in the Grand Prix, no one has more to lose than Rodtang.

The 24-year-old is the reigning ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion and has an incredible 267-42-10 professional record.

While he’s the undisputed king of his division, Rodtang knows he can’t take any one of the participants lightly.

The tournament has absolute stoppers in Smith, Walter Goncalves, Superlek Kiatmoo9, Taiki Naito, Savvas Michael, Amir Naseri, and one who’s been a rival of Rodtang in the past.

Former ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion Jonathan Haggerty is also in the tournament to take on Goncalves. Rodtang and Haggerty featured in two high-profle title matches in the past with the Thai superstar winning in both bouts.

“So in this tournament, what I see is that, as the champion, nobody is the underdog and everyone is kind of dangerous in their own ways so we cannot say. Maybe I will get be champion for the World Grand Prix or the other guys will get it,” said Rodtang.

He added: