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ONE Championship fans were recently treated to another fun Rodtang vs. Musumeci face-off this week which didn’t involve rocks, papers, or scissors.
The two superstars were seen play-sparring on the mats on Monday, showing off their skills under two special rules: Muay Thai and grappling.
But as they switched to Muay Thai, submission grappler Mikey Musumeci immediately went on the defensive. He amusingly told 'The Iron Man,' “don’t f*** me up!” as the latter charged forward with knees, leg kicks, and punches.
The Italian-American grappler put his hands up to cover himself, but would intuitively grab Rodtang’s arms to defend himself, prompting the Muay Thai king to yell out “foul!”
On Monday, the Muay Thai king uploaded their video to Instagram with a cheeky caption that read:
“Muay Thai is not mma.😂”
Fans absolutely loved their scrimmage with one person saying:
“🤣🤣 That was the scariest thing ever 😭❤️.@rodtang_jimungnon is my new muy Thai professor (kru), I will learn from him Muay Thai and teach him jiu jitsu 🤝🏼🙇🏻♂️🙏🏻🔥.”
Another added:
“@mikeymusumeci best collab ❤️🔥”
Watch their funny scrimmage below:
American fans will be seeing more of ‘The Iron Man’ and ‘Darth Rigatoni’ in the next few months. For starters, Rodtang will be in the United States from February 18 to March 5, teaching Muay Thai seminars across the country, including Florida and New York.
Meanwhile, Musumeci has teased in an Instagram post that he could be competing at ONE Fight Night 10.
Rodtang still considers himself a “normal fighter” in spite of Muay Thai success
While he is fiercely confident bordering on cocky while competing, Rodtang is incredibly humble with a good head on his shoulders outside the circle.
The Pattaya-born athlete from Bangkok achieved a high level of success early in his career, and despite it all, he’s always remembered to stay true to himself and his roots. Remarkably, the 25-year-old phenom is still undefeated in Muay Thai, holding a remarkable record of 11 consecutive wins at ONE Championship.
There’s no denying that he might be one of the greatest pound-for-pound strikers in the world right now. But for 'The Iron Man,' it’s not about how many titles you have that’s important, it’s about giving yourself up completely to the sport that you love.
Speaking to ONE, he said:
“I consider myself a normal fighter. I would like to thank everyone for considering me as one of the best fighters out there, but I just want to do the best that I can in every fight. My secret is that my heart is that of a real fighter. I’m a real fighter in my heart, and I go 100 percent in every round.”
