“I love to play before and after my fights” – Rodtang on his newfound love for Football

ONE Championship Muay Thai staple Rodtang Jitmuangnon is gearing up to defend his flyweight world title at ONE on Prime Video 4 in what will be a battle of champions. As he progresses through life, Rodtang has discovered a new love.

'The Iron Man' recently started playing the world's most popular sport, association football. The champ spoke with ONE about his newfound love of the sport:

"I just started playing football seriously. Actually, I just started less than a year ago. I love to play before and after my fights. I have my team where every member is involved in Muay Thai in some way. We love to compete for charity events. Sometimes, we organize our own league by inviting our friends to join and raise funds for donations."

For now, he is fully invested in his first love, Muay Thai. He'll be welcoming ONE strawweight champ Joseph Lasiri to the flyweight division under Muay Thai rules.

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Rodtang receives high praise from John Lineker

The 25-year-old Muay Thai phenom is no stranger to garnering high praise from his peers. In the most recent example, it was former bantamweight champ John 'Hands of Stone' Lineker who applauded the Thai fighter:

“Saying who is the best fighter in ONE at the moment is difficult because there are great fighters in the organization. But a guy who is really tough, who I like to see fight, is Rodtang from Muay Thai. He is very good. As I said, it's hard to point out who is the best, but I point out him as a guy who puts on a show that everyone wants to watch.”

Since joining ONE in 2019, the flyweight king has tallied a record of 9-1 in Muay Thai bouts. He even competed against Demetrious 'Mighty Mouse' Johnson in a custom rules bout earlier in 2022.

In the mixed rules bout, where rounds alternated between MMA and Muay Thai rules, Johnson was able to enforce his grappling and submitted Rodtang in the second round with a rear-naked choke. However, his superiority on the feet almost overpowered Johnson in the first round when the Muay Thai ruleset was in place. Johnson is unlike Ben Askren or Tyron Woodley, he's one of the best technical strikers in the history of MMA.

Needless to say, 'The Iron Man' is quite eager to showcase his elite skills once more on the global stage—and considering his young age—there's no telling how high the young talent will climb in this sport.

Be sure to watch Rodtang take on Joseph Lasiri in a showdown of Muay Thai champions at ONE on Prime Video 4 on November 18, live from Singapore Indoor Stadium.