"It's Dragon Ball" - Rodtang Jitmuangnon on what inspired his new blonde hairdo

Rodtang Jitmuangnon already goes by the nickname ‘The Iron Man’, but he wouldn't mind going full Super Saiyan in his next bout.

The Thai megastar has dyed his hair a vibrant golden blonde ahead of his match against Jacob Smith in the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix quarterfinals. The opening GP round is set for ONE 157: Petchmorakot vs. Vienot on May 20 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post’s Tom Taylor, Rodtang said he wanted to change things up a little heading into the Grand Prix.

The ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion wanted to channel his inner Son Goku in his first tournament in ONE Championship.

Rodtang Jitmuangnon, who’s a fan of Dragon Ball Z, said:

“So when some of the characters like Son Goku they were charging up, they will go Super Saiyan mode and their hair will turn to gold and you see all the power charge up. This fight I’ll try to see maybe this hairstyle works will be fit for the World Grand Prix.”

Rodtang isn’t the first ONE Championship fighter to show his love for Akira Toriyama’s masterpiece. Japanese stars Itsuki Hirata and Senzo Ikeda also turn to the iconic manga and anime series during their fights.

Ikeda does his impression of a Kamehameha after his victories, while Hirata has the ‘Android 18’ nickname due to her likeness to the character.

Rodtang, though, admitted that he’s never done any self-coloring on his hair but wanted to pay homage to one of his favorite anime and manga series.

“I have never done any coloring before in my life, but when I was very young I used to like the animation from Japanese manga like Dragon Ball.”

Catch the full interview below:

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Rodtang Jitmuangnon gets help from Superbon in his preparation for ONE 157

Rodtang Jitmuangnon is one of the most charismatic personalities in ONE Championship, and he got a bit of help from another of the promotion’s top stars.

While he was busy preparing for his fight against Smith, Rodtang hit it up with ONE featherweight kickboxing Superbon Singha Mawynn at Fairtex Training Center.

The two striking superstars did the usual drills on the mitts and the bags but they also had a bit of wrestling fun.

Superbon executed a perfect belly-to-belly suplex on Rodtang as he threw the Muay Thai champion straight into the pool at the Fairtex Training Center.

We'll find out whether Rodtang's training with Superbon has added some new wrinkles to his game when he returns to the circle this Friday for ONE 157.