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At ONE 157 back in May, ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon proved why he is one of the most dominant men in the sport today. 'The Iron Man', as his fans call him, jumped into a pool of sharks to take part in the first-ever ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix.
He did this despite the fact that he's already at the top of the division. The Thai kickboxing legend basically reminded the world why he is on top and why he is to be feared.
In his quarterfinal fight against the UK's No.1-ranked fighter, Jacob Smith, Rodtang Jitmuangnon showed a new iteration of his already-dangerous arsenal – patience.
The fight was expected to be a toe-to-toe war between the two power strikers but instead, we saw a calculated, one-sided beatdown with the Thai swinging the hammer.
We didn't merely see the trademark aggression that's synonymous with Rodtang's illustrious career. 'The Iron Man' was relaxed, almost stoic in his approach. It wasn't just chaos, it was controlled chaos. That's not to say, however, that the calculated pressure Rodtang put on Smith didn't cause massive damage to the Brit.
By the third round, significant strikes had piled on to cause Smith to wear the proverbial crimson mask. It was a clear unanimous decision win and was perhaps the most complete and balanced performance we've seen from Rodtang Jitmuangnon so far.
Watch the full fight here:
Rodtang Jitmuangnon to defend his ONE flyweight Muay Thai world title against strawweight Muay Thai king Joseph Lasiri
Rodtang Jitmuangnon will look to defend his throne and assert his dominance once again, while Joseph Lasiri will look to conquer a new weight class.
The Thai phenom is set to defend his ONE flyweight Muay Thai world title against the newly crowned ONE strawweight Muay Thai world champion on November 18 at ONE on Prime Video 4.
The fight will be Rodtang Jitmuangnon’s fourth defense of his belt, with the most recent being his split-decision win over Petchdam Petchyindee in July 2020.
Lasiri, meanwhile, is hunting for a second belt by moving up a weight class following his incredible stoppage win over Prajanchai PK.Saenchai for the strawweight Muay Thai world title back in May.
ONE Championship announced the champion vs. champion bout on Instagram:
“The Iron Man" is BACK 🤩 Rodtang Jitmuangnon will defend his ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Title against newly-crowned ONE Strawweight Muay Thai World Champion Joseph Lasiri! Pre-sale starts on Oct 1 at 8AM SGT. #ONEonPrimeVideo4 @rodtang_jimungnon @joseph_lasiri_official."
This bout will be between one of the most dominant ONE Super Series world champions and perhaps the most inspiring Cinderella story you'll ever hear. While Rodtang is 11-0 in ONE Super Series, Lasiri lost his first four fights but then bounced back to win three of the next four. The Italian-Moroccan striker culminated his incredible journey by upsetting the highly touted Prajanchai.
