With the highly anticipated main event card of ONE 172: Takeru vs Rodtang just around the corner, fans are rife with predictions. 'The Bosnian Menace' Denis Puric, having had a first-hand experience of going up against 'The Iron Man' Rodtang, has a few thoughts on how things might go when the Thai legend takes on Takeru.
One thing he isn't entirely convinced about is Takeru's health heading into the fight.
"I still don't know how Takeru's knee is," Puric said.
It should be noted that in early 2024, Takeru fractured his knee in two places after checking a kick from Thai icon Superlek in the first round. (That he managed to fight to a decision even with a fractured knee says a lot about his dedication!)
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Puric knows how Rodtang fights and how different his style can be from round to round.
"He was hard to catch the in the first round," Puric said. "But then in the second round, he came. He started doing his Rodtang s***, and that's what I was training for. I was training for that Rodtang guy to stand and come and fight. He never does that s*** with anybody."
According to Denis Puric, the switch in style shifted the rhythm of the fight.
"So then, the second round, I think I took the second round," he said. "It was like, okay, he was still, he's not f***ing, moving around. And so I think if he keeps the way he fought with me in the first round throughout the fight, I think that it's gonna be a tough night for Takeru."
Rodtang's strikes when he came in didn't hurt Puric, but they threw him off-balance.
"And also Rodtang, came in heavy in that fight, right? So it was different when he hit me. It wasn't like he hurt me, but he was knocking me off balance a lot in the 1st round. So in the second round, I had to get lower and really grip the ground, so he doesn't f***ing knock me off balance."
“A lot of good cardio” - Denis Puric believes Takeru’s endless gas tank could be his biggest advantage vs. Rodtang
Denis Puric has a lot of respect for Rodtang's durability, but Takeru's engine could cause him some problems.
"He's got a lot of good cardio," Puric said, talking about Takeru. "You see him ripping the s***, you know. So I hope Rodtang took this training camp serious, gets his f***ing weight down."
Rodtang did manage to make weight, so that's one thing down. Now, if Takeru's knee holds up, the main event could become even more interesting.
ONE 172: Takeru vs Rodtang is available via PPV at watch.onefc.com. The event starts at 2 PM ICT tomorrow.
