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Perhaps the most interesting bout in the legendary career of Demetrious Johnson will happen on March 26. The former 11-time defending UFC champion will face Muay Thai's hottest champion today Rodtang Jitmuangnon in a special rules bout at ONE: X.
In a YouTube video released by ONE Championship, we have a closer look at the upcoming mega-fight.
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Rodtang, who has a mind-blowing Muay Thai record of 267-42-10, is the current ONE Championship flyweight Muay Thai champion. His frighteningly aggressive style and unbreakable chin have shaken the wills of even the highest-level fighters. With his fight with Demetrious Johnson, however, Rodtang may achieve fame and notoriety that has not been achieved by anyone else in his sport.
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Though Muay Thai is a global sport with a concentrated fanbase, it has not reached the heights MMA has achieved in the past 25 years. Demetrious Johnson became a household name during his mythical run in the UFC and has since become one of the greatest MMA fighters ever.
He will certainly be carrying the bulk of the hype here, but it would be refreshing to see a Muay Thai phenom gain mainstream exposure as well.
With the first and third rounds being contested under Muay Thai rules and rounds two and four under MMA rules, we'll get to see how both would adapt to each other's sport.
Look to see Johnson use his trademark fast feet to dart in and out of Rodtang's dangerous pocket, while the Thai will have to avoid the ground at all costs.
Watch the full fight preview here:
Demetrious Johnson vs. Rodtang isn't the first Special Rules match involving a ONE champion
Though this historic match is the first of its kind in ONE Championship, it's not the first in the sport's history. In fact, one of the most notable contests involved ONE's former lightweight champion Shinya 'Tobikan Judan' Aoki in a promotion called Fighting and Entertainment Group.
It happened in 2010, two years before Aoki debuted in ONE. At this point in his career, Aoki was already a legend in Japanese MMA. He faced K-1 kickboxer and cosplayer Yuichiro Nagashima. It became famous for all the wrong reasons, however.
In the first three-minute kickboxing round, Aoki purposely broke the rules and refused to engage Nagashima. He excessively clinched, went for takedowns and kept falling to the ground to avoid kickboxing and run out the clock. The crowd booed heavily as they reached the 2nd round, which was a 5-minute MMA round.
Aoki's antics backfired as he eagerly went for a double leg takedown right at the bell but was met by a flying knee by Nagashima. Aoki didn't bother setting up his takedown with strikes and so Nagashima saw it a mile away.
Let us hope that Demetrious Johnson has studied this match and make sure he doesn't make the same mistakes Aoki did. Something tells us that he won't.
