Rodtang says piston-like left that shut down Takeru is his new secret weapon: “I feel all the power in here”

Rodtang Jitmuangnon has a new signature weapon. HINT: It's the one that wrapped one of the biggest fights in kickboxing history last week.

The Thai megastar headlined ONE Championship's epic return to Japan inside the Saitama Super Arena alongside former three-division K-1 king Takeru Segawa.

Most fans anticipated an all-out three-round slugfest or a late knockout with both warriors' technical prowess and heart.

However, Rodtang had other ideas. And it was all down to his newfound weapon of destruction.

'The Iron Man' sent 'Natural Born Krusher' into the shadow realm with a dynamite left hand in just 80 seconds.

Speaking to Mitch Chilson shortly after his win, the former ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion had this to say about his match-winning tool:

"First, I must say, before the first fight was supposed to happen with Takeru, I had an injury on my left hand. And now that I’ve recovered, I feel all the power in here. I didn’t realize I could finish him, but now I did."

Following his victorious night out, which helped him cash in an additional US$50,000 performance bonus, the Jitmuangnon Gym athlete took his active winning streak to three.

ONE 172 will be available via replay at watch.onefc.com.

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Endless opportunities await Rodtang following ONE 172 success

Rodtang has a couple of obvious options next on martial arts' grandest stage following his knockout win at ONE 172.

First, at the top of his list should be a match to reclaim the vacant ONE flyweight Muay Thai world championship gold.

With him being the top-ranked contender and Superlek just a spot below, a rematch between the two could be on the cards. 'The Kicking Machine' bagged a unanimous decision win over 'The Iron Man' in their first scrap in September 2023.

If that doesn't materialize, and coupled with the Thai's win under kickboxing rules against Takeru, he could run it back against Superlek for the latter's flyweight kickboxing crown.

ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong, however, has said that work is underway to make a Rodtang-Jonathan Haggerty trilogy next.