Watch: The Untold Story of Rodtang Jitmuangnon

ONE flyweight Muay Thai champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon has to be one of the most recognizable Muay Thai fighters in the world today. His ferociousness inside the ring is a nightmare for whoever is unfortunate enough to be in front of him.

If you look at how the Jitmuangnon fighter fights, you'd think there's nothing that could possibly shake his belief in himself. And you might be right.

Rodtang's trademark aggression and unbelievable toughness may have been products of his life outside the ring. In a video released by ONE, we see the struggles and tragedies that surrounded Rodtang's life outside the unforgiving corners of the ring.

Rodtang's mentor, Huan Jitmuangnon, whose gym Rodtang adopted as his last name, passed away midway through the peak of his fighter's career. In his own words, the 24-year-old expressed how he felt about this sudden tragedy in his life:

"I got a call telling me that he'd [Huan] passed away. I was in shock. I didn't know what to do."

Mr. Huan, as his fighters would call him, saw the potential in Rodtang Jitmuangnon. He gave him a gym to train in and helped him become the champion that he is today.

As if that wasn't enough of a hurdle, Rodtang's own beloved father also has stage 3 cancer. The struggles in this man's life could have made anyone give up, but not Rodtang. That's why it seems so easy for him to fight the best fighters in the ring. He's overcome the worst life can possibly throw at someone outside of it.

Watch the video below:

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Rodtang Jitmuangnon handily dispatches Jacob Smith at ONE 157

Last Friday at ONE 157, Rodtang proved why he is to be feared as the dominant ONE flyweight Muay Thai champion.

Rodtang didn't have to take part in the first-ever ONE flyweight Muay Thai Grand Prix tournament since he is already the title holder. Still, the Jitmuangnon fighter wanted to prove a point that night as he did so in violent fashion.

Against what was perceived to be his toughest test to date, Rodtang surprised even his harshest critics with his three-round near-murder of Jacob Smith. Most fans and pundits believed that the UK's No.1-ranked fighter, Smith, would pose the most serious problem for Rodtang.

Smith has a similar style to Rodtang: aggressive, forward-moving and fearless. The fight was expected to be a collision between an unstoppable force and an immovable object. What we saw was a demolition job with Rodtang Jitmuangnon swinging the proverbial hammer.

The champion showed a different, perhaps more frightening aspect of himself: controlled chaos. The Jitmuangnon fighter picked his opponent apart with excellent distance management and controlled aggression.

The steady accumulation of Rodtang Jitmuangnon's waves and waves of strikes was too much for Smith. By the end of the fight, the Brit's face was a bloody mess.

With this dominant win, the flyweight Muay Thau champion has advanced to the semi-final round of the Grand Prix tournament.

For the full highlights of ONE 157 main card, click here.