Rodtang Jitmuangnon on fighting a legend like Demetrious Johnson

Rodtang Jitmuangnon recently had a chance to look back at his match with Demetrious Johnson at ONE X, but he doesn’t carry any baggage from the loss.

In an interview with SCMP MMA, ‘The Iron Man’ revealed that he wasn’t really surprised that he didn’t get the first-round knockout in his domain of Muay Thai. That was despite landing clean shots on Johnson.

Rodtang Jitmuangnon said:

“I’m not really surprised. Both of us are well-conditioned, and in this type of a fight, it’s a very low percentage to lose at the start of the first round since both of us are coming in fresh and we’re set in our game plans. DJ is all set to his defensive [plan]. If we really didn’t catch him with a knockout, it will be difficult to survive.”

Catch the full interview below:

Their worst fears came true when Rodtang succumbed to a rear-naked choke in the second round of their match. However, Rodtang’s confidence was not shaken by the loss.

Instead, he chooses to look fondly at the experience of sharing the stage with a legend like ‘Mighty Mouse’.

“It felt great to fight a legend like DJ. I know entering that fight that I have a pretty high losing rate, so I’m not discouraged at all after that fight is done. It is a really hard challenge. MMA is one of the things that’s in my focus goals. So let’s try, after this World Grand Prix, I will come back and train. Maybe one day, I will have a chance to fight DJ again.”

Rodtang Jitmuangnon sets his sights on making history

Fresh off a historical special-rules superfight in ONE Championship, Rodtang Jitmuangnon will make his return to the circle with another potential first.

At ONE 157: Petchmorakot vs. Vienot on Friday, May 20, Rodtang Jitmuangnon will face promotional newcomer Jacob Smith in the quarterfinals of the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix.

The winner of the tournament receives a prestigious silver belt and a shot at the crown of the reigning world champion. For the first time in ONE Championship history, the division’s king will be part of the tournament right from the start.

In 2019, ONE lightweight world champion Christian Lee won the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix by defeating Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev in the final round of the tournament.

However, Lee took the place of the injured Eddie Alvarez on 10-days' notice and did not go through the whole tournament.