"Rodtang took a lot of heat from the fans" - Chatri on Rodtang's emotional post-fight speech at ONE 167

ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong understands why Rodtang Jitmuangnon was unable to fight back tears after his exceptional win over Denis Puric at ONE 167 over the weekend. 'The Iron Man' was an emotional wreck during his in-circle interview with Mitch Chilson, where he let out his feelings after dealing with a roller-coaster of emotions during fight week.

Apart from it being his comeback fight after a lengthy time off due to injury, the Thai megastar also received heavy criticism for missing weight. Rodtang came in at a whopping 6.25 pounds over the flyweight kickboxing limit.

Despite the relief of getting the win against a terrific adversary like Puric, the 26-year-old was admittedly hurt by the harsh comments made by some fans.

Speaking during the post-event interviews, Sityodtong said the unfounded hate took a mental toll on Rodtang:

"Rodtang took a lot of heat from the Thai fans. They were very angry. Social media blew up for him missing weight. He took it very personal. He was crying actually in his room because he was torn to shreds by the fans, who had higher expectations of him as one of Thailand's greatest heroes."

The replay of ONE 167 is available free on demand for those with an active Prime Video subscription in North America.

---

Rodtang owns up to his weigh-in debacle

A man with great character shows accountability when he's wrong, and Rodtang says there's no one else to blame but himself.

Addressing the media after ONE 167, 'The Iron Man' admitted he should worked harder to shed off the excess pounds and meet the demands of the scales:

"I had time to train, but there's a little bit of mishap too. I thought I had time to make weight and reduce by 1.5 kilograms. I had to do other activities that made me not fully focused on my weight. But all in all, I take full responsibility for my mistake."

Watch the ONE 167 post-event interviews, here: