Rodtang Jitmuangnon keen on joining 1 million-dollar Openweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix

Rodtang Jitmuangnon has got his eye on the recently announced one million-dollar Openweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix.

Ahead of ONE’s first event of the year, CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced the huge tournament, which will take place this year. Promising dream matchups that fans never thought they would see, the announcement opened up a lot of speculation about who will compete in the tournament and who will get to face-off.

Never one to shy away from a challenge, ONE's flyweight Muay Thai world champion will likely be one of the first names on fans' list of fighters who they want to see in the World Grand Prix.

‘The Iron Man’ is not just one of the best strikers on the planet, he is one of the most exciting competitors to watch inside the circle. With his aggressive and confident style, Rodtang will walk through shots and force his opponents to stand and trade with him.

At ONE Fight Night 6, the dominant Muay Thai world champion took himself out of his comfort zone to compete in kickboxing for the first time in two years. After defeating China’s Jiduo Yibu this past Friday, ‘The Iron Man’ spoke about the appeal of competing in the new tournament during his post-fight interview:

“Of course, I have to fight every opponent that I have been matched with in order to get the big prize.”

Watch the full post-fight interview below:

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Fans react to the show of respect between Rodtang and Jiduo Yibu after brutal war

As expected, Rodtang Jitmuangnon produced one of the most exciting fights of ONE Fight Night 6 when he took on Jiduo Yibu.

‘The Iron Man’ started the match aggressively to the surprise of absolutely no one. He closed distance and bullied Yibu with his fast combinations and low kicks, Yibu put up a fight, but eventually started to lose in the exchanges.

After a tough opening round for the Chinese fighter, during which he received a bad cut above his eye, he was sent back out for the second round with an encouraging speech from his coaches.

Yibu refused to be dominated by Rodtang, firing back at the flyweight Muay Thai world champion and producing a great fight for the remainder of their matchup.

Despite being covered in blood by the end of the third round, Yibu earned Rodtang’s respect by not backing down from the fight. Before the decision was announced, both men paid their respects to one another with a bow and embrace.

Here is how fans reacted to their show of respect below:

“This is why I love One Championship, sportsmanship at its best❤️❤️❤️❤️”

“That man forgot to celebrate just to pay respect to his opponent 👏🏽”

“Rodtang Is the Pride of ONE”