Rodtang recalls the moment he stopped playing football to pursue Muay Thai full-time

The tenacity and aggressiveness of reigning ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion Rodtang are very evident whenever he fights inside the Circle. Because of these two attributes, the 26-year-old Thai sensation was able to win all of his 14 matches in Muay Thai and kickboxing, including three TKO/KO finishes.

One might think that the ‘Iron Man’s’ only has passion for Muay Thai, but he revealed that it is not the first and only sport he played. In his appearance on CUTZRADIO, Rodtang shared that he also played football when he was a kid.

However, there was a big factor that made him switch and pursue the combat sport over the team game. Rodtang said:

"I won that fight and I got a prize of 300 baht. I was super happy. Suddenly I felt like a rich person in school. And I showed my 100 bills around. Then I decided to give up on football and begin my journey in Muay Thai."

It was a big decision for Rodtang back then because he wanted to help his family out of poverty, and Muay Thai became the key to doing so. Since making that commitment to the "art of the eight limbs," he found his stride and eventually became a global superstar under the world’s largest martial arts organization.

The Jitmuangon Gym representative defeated the likes of Fahdi Khaled, Jonathan Haggerty, Petchdam Petchyindee, Danial Williams, Joseph Lasiri, and Edgar Tabares. Rodtang is currently preparing for a massive showdown against Superlek Kiatmoo9 as he defends his flyweight Muay Thai world title on September 22 for the main event of ONE Friday Fights 34, which goes down inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.

ONE Friday Fights is available for free weekly on ONE Championship’s official YouTube page.