Chatri Sityodtong says “very close fight” between Rodtang and Superlek could have been scored a draw

ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong is of the opinion that the recently held Muay Thai showdown between Rodtang Jitmuangnon and Superlek Kiatmoo9 was a very close fight and could have easily been scored a draw.

The ONE executive made his thoughts known on it in an interview with the South China Morning Post following ONE Friday Fights 34 on September 22 in Bangkok, further saying that if it was scored a draw, Rodtang should have won because of the damage he inflicted on Superlek.

Sityodtong said:

“Yeah, for sure. I mean the fight was so close. Like you said, you know in some people’s eyes it was a draw. If it was a draw, it would have gone to Rodtang because of the cut on Superlek’s head. Cause, then you go back to the criteria that we use for damage and stuff. But, it was nevertheless a very, very close fight.”

Check out the interview below:

It bears noting, however, that under ONE Championship’s ruleset there are no draws, and a winner has to be determined using the promotion’s judging criteria, namely, knockdowns, damage (internal, accumulated, and superficial), number of clean strikes, and aggression and cage/ring generalship (superior positioning).

At ONE Friday Fights 34, Superlek went away with a unanimous decision victory over Rodtang in their catchweight (140 lbs) Muay Thai showdown.

It was all action right from the get-go with the two fighters not holding back on their striking. Rodtang opened a nasty cut on the forehead of Superlek early in the opening round and left the latter bloodied after.

But ‘The Kicking Machine’ battled himself through the cut and remained aggressive, even scoring a knockdown in the second round that proved to be pivotal in securing the decision win in the end.

The contest was originally set as a title clash for Rodtang’s ONE flyweight Muay Thai world title until Superlek weighed five pounds heavier than the limit in the weigh-ins, forcing the match to be played as a catchweight match.

The full replay of ONE Friday Fights 34 is available on ONE Championship’s official YouTube channel.