Rodtang Jitmuangnon says he’ll feel guilty if he’s the one to send Takeru to retirement: “I’m going to hurt him badly”

Rodtang Jitmuangnon is ready to inflict as much pain as possible against Takeru Segawa, no matter the circumstance.

The pair of striking legends will square off in a flyweight kickboxing super fight in the main event of the loaded ONE 172 card on March 23 at the historic Saitama Super Arena in Japan.

Both fighters have been itching to throw haymakers at each other since the bout was announced in December 2024.

While Rodtang has always been laser-focused at ONE 172, Takeru looks beyond his fated duel against the former ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion.

Speculations have abounded that Takeru could retire after the card, and Rodtang admitted that he would feel guilty once the final bell rings.

Guilt in a different kind of way, though.

Rodtang Jitmuangnon said in an interview with ONE Championship:

"If Takeru does retire, I would feel very guilty because I'm going to hurt him badly in his final fight."

Rodtang and Takeru are considered two of the greatest strikers of their generation, and their showdown at the hallowed Saitama Super Arena could become one of the most important fights in kickboxing history.

Takeru is arguably the greatest Japanese kickboxer in history and is the only fighter to win the K-1 Kickboxing world titles in three weight classes.

Rodtang, meanwhile, held the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world title from 2019 until its unceremonious end in 2024.

'The Iron Man' was supposed to defend his gold against Jacob Smith at ONE 169, but he was stripped of the gold after he missed weight in his world title defense.

Nevertheless, Rodtang showcased his terrifying pedigree when he dominated Smith in their ensuing matchup.

ONE 172 is available live on pay-per-view at watch.onefc.com.

---

Rodtang Jitmuangnon says it's finally time to square off against Takeru

Rodtang Jitmuangnon and Takeru Segawa were supposed to square off as early as January 2024, but the Thai megastar had to pull out of ONE 165 due to injury.

More than a year since that botched meeting, Rodtang and Takeru are finally set to blow the roof off Saitama Super Arena at ONE 172.

Rodtang said in an interview with ONE Championship:

"Since Takeru got into ONE, he’s been calling for me. I’m glad that a superstar like Takeru demands and wants to fight with me since he got into ONE."