Chatri Sityodtong on Superlek’s knockdown over Rodtang in close fight: “Rodtang wasn’t hurt”

A lot of fight fans were left stunned after Superlek Kiatmoo9 walked away with a unanimous decision victory over Rodtang Jitmuangnon in arguably the biggest fight in the history of Muay Thai.

Even ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong is admittedly surprised by the conclusion of the historic ONE Friday Fights 34 at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok over the weekend.

In his post-event interview with The South China Morning Post MMA, Sityodtong talked about the deciding factor that shifted the tide in Superlek’s favor.

‘The Kicking Machine’, after all, scored a now-controversial knockdown in the second round when he cornered the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion near the ring ropes and dropped him with a well-placed right elbow.

However, some fans and pundits alike ruled it a slip and questioned the referee’s decision for the standing eight count. Sityodtong, for one, thinks Rodtang ate the shot well and was not dazed at all:

“I agree I mean it was a half off-balanced, half elbow. And Rodtang wasn’t hurt obviously. But, you know these things happen at the spur of the moment and the ref thought it was a knockdown. So, it’s not that I would say, ‘No, it’s not a knockdown.’ It was a knockdown. Yeah, then it is a knockdown, you know?”

Check out Superlek’s knockdown sequence and see for yourself:

As seen in the replay, Superlek connected on a knee to the body and pushed Rodtang to create some distance for his follow-up shot. ‘The Iron Man’ got entangled near the ropes and lost his footing but was quick to get up.

Even Rodtang was left perplexed by the count and visibly aired his disagreement with the referee. Prior to the knockdown, Rodtang was landing significant damage and even opened a nasty cut above Superlek’s forehead in the opening round.

Then again, the reigning ONE flyweight kickboxing king connected on a ton of kicks and counterattacks. He also did a splendid job of dictating the distance by controlling Rodtang’s hands and negating his power shots.

Ultimately, that crucial knockdown likely sealed the deal in the eyes of the judges.

Catch the replay of this epic card available on ONE Championship’s official YouTube channel.

Here’s Chatri Sityodtong’s full interview with SCMP MMA: