"Thai boxing and football" - Rodtang Jitmuangnon's photo op with Kritsada Wongkeaw

Muay Thai world champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon recently got a photo opportunity with Thai-born futsal star Kritsada Wongkeaw.

He posted the photo on Instagram with the caption:

"Thai boxing and football🇹🇭🇹🇭🇹🇭🇹🇭"

Kritsada Wongkeaw shared this photo on his Instagram story which included an animation of combat sports gloves in it. He is a futsal midfielder in the Indonesia Pro Futsal League for the team Black Steel Manokwari and in the Futsal Thai League with the Chonburi Bluewave. With him on the Chonburi Bluewave, the team has won championships in eight seasons. Futsal, for those who may not know, is a form of indoor football.

Since 2009, Wongkeaw has played for the Thailand national futsal team. The Thai national team is currently ranked No.1 in the ASEAN Football Federation.

Rodtang Jitmuangnon is a world champion in Muay Thai competing in ONE Championship. He holds an incredible record of 267-42-10. He is just coming off a major loss against Demetrious Johnson at ONE X.

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Rodtang says they're all the same

After their ONE X mixed rules contest, the MMA great Demetrious Johnson and the Muay Thai champion had a conversation backstage. On The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, "Mighty Mouse" revealed what the conversation was on the show. He said:

"I said 'Rodtang, when I hit you, did it hurt?' And he goes, 'Nah.' And then I go, 'Did I hit as hard as all the other people you fight?' And he goes, ‘it’s all the same.'"

Demetrious Johnson also said that Rodtang did hit the hardest when compared to his past opponents:

“I got rocked a couple of times, but I’ve been rocked before. I think him and [John] Dodson hit the hardest.”

Whether it's Danial Williams, Tagir Khalilov, Yodkhuntap, or Jonathan Haggerty, the Thai-born champion has defeated them all the same.

At ONE X, this was a mixed rules contest with rounds 1 and 3 being Muay Thai and rounds 2 and 4 in MMA. 'The Iron Man' did very well in the Muay Thai round but was submitted in round 2. However, this loss has not deterred the young man. Instead, he said that he wants to come back stronger. He posted on Instagram:

“You’ll see me against a better MMA fighter in the future. I will still continue to train my grappling, improve my ground game, and be better at MMA.”

He also added:

“Defeat will remind us to strive for more success in the future as long as our hearts fight.”

Neither the Muay Thai champion nor Demetrious Johnson have a scheduled fight but are expected to be back in ONE Championship later in 2022.