Rodtang Jitmuangnon says fight with Superlek has been years in the making

Despite traversing different roads in ONE Championship, ONE flyweight Muay Thai king Rodtang Jitmuangnon has always believed that he will inevitably cross paths with Superlek Kiatmoo9.

Judgment Day is finally coming at ONE Fight Night 8: Superlek vs. Rodtang on Prime Video, as the two masters of the striking arts will finally throw leather on March 24 inside the promotion’s home base at Singapore Indoor Stadium.

While pride is obviously on the line, the stakes couldn’t be higher for these two compatriots, since the ONE flyweight kickboxing world title will also be hanging in the balance.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Rodtang Jitmuangnon detailed why his and Superlek’s names will always be intertwined in the annals of combat sports history:

“There has always been a lot of hype about our matchup for a long time. The fans were hyped when I first joined ONE Championship or even before I fought in Thailand at Rajadamnern or Lumpinee Stadium.”

‘The Iron Man’ continued:

“Everyone wanted to watch me lock horns with Superlek. But don’t get me wrong. Running away from him is the last thing on my mind. When both of us were competing in Thailand, we had no chance to face each other because we fought in different divisions. And, in my division alone, I had many opponents to fight with -- for example, Seksan, Yodlekpetch, among many others. So, our paths were never aligned until now.”

Rodtang Jitmuangnon, of course, became an instant star when he joined one of the world’s largest martial arts organizations in 2018. He ravaged everyone in his path en-route to five successful world title defenses.

Unlike the flashy Rodtang, Superlek flew under the radar a bit and made waves in the promotion’s flyweight kickboxing division. His crowning moment finally came last year, when he dominated Daniel Puertas to become a ONE world champion.

With Rodtang Jitmuangnon chasing that rare two-sport supremacy, it’s about damn time for this dream match-up to finally come to fruition. Even the 25-year-old Thai destroyer believes this is the perfect time to meet ‘The Kicking Machine’ inside the circle. He shared:

“Of course, we did not run from each other. It is because the timing was not right. We would have never faced each other if we still fought in Thailand. But now that time has come.”

ONE Fight Night 8: Superlek vs. Rodtang will air live on US Primetime and free for all existing Amazon Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.