"I kept that a secret" - Rodtang says hand injury made it hard to prepare for Denis Puric at ONE 167

ONE 167 was an important night in the legendary career of Rodtang Jitmuangnon as he returned to action. 'The Iron Man' had some questions to answer after facing criticism in recent times from multiple places.

As a result, following his victory in kickboxing over Denis Puric, the Thai superstar was incredibly emotional immediately after getting his hand raised.

The flyweight Muay Thai king had come through a tough run in his career after being forced to pull out of his huge fight with Takeru Segawa at ONE 165 due to injury.

The very same injury made it difficult to prepare for his clash with Puric and cut weight during training camp. In his post-fight press conference, Rodtang reflected on the injury and how it has impacted him throughout the year:

"I have said that it's been a while, it's been almost a year since I last fought. And due to the three month injury, I couldn't really move my hand for three months. I kept that a secret from many people."

Watch the full post-event press conference below:

Rodtang answered the critics at ONE 167

The criticism that Rodtang has faced in recent times wasn't helped by the fact that he was coming off his first loss in striking under the ONE Championship banner.

To answer all the negativity, he needed to get back to competition to remind people why he is the biggest star in striking sports today. This finally happened for him on June 7 when both he and Denis Puric tore the house down in a great co-main event feature at the Impact Arena.

For all of the comments that clearly affected 'The Iron Man' ahead of fight night, he never fails to produce entertaining contests that have the fans jumping out of their seats.

ONE 167 is available to watch back in full for free via Prime Video for US and Canadian fans with an active subscription.