![Rodtang earned his fame in combat sports the hard way. [Photo via: ONE Championship]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/03/cb19b-17424670782410-1920.jpg)
![Rodtang earned his fame in combat sports the hard way. [Photo via: ONE Championship]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http%3A//www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20xmlns%3Axlink='http%3A//www.w3.org/1999/xlink'%20viewBox='0%200%2010%206.6666666666667'%3E%3Cfilter%20id='b'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20stdDeviation='.5'%3E%3C/feGaussianBlur%3E%3CfeComponentTransfer%3E%3CfeFuncA%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20type='discrete'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20tableValues='1%201'%3E%3C/feFuncA%3E%3C/feComponentTransfer%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20filter='url(%23b)'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAHAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAb/xAAVAQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABA//aAAwDAQACEAMQAAAAi5ku/wD/xAAfEAACAgEEAwAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgMEBQAREiEGFEH/2gAIAQEAAT8Aw7+PXMXjLE+GhsyW2lDgmQB3Q9cjz+KdXK2LW3OvpQLs7DYM3Xev/8QAFxEAAwEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECcf/aAAgBAgEBPwCbbh6f/8QAFxEBAAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQADIf/aAAgBAwEBPwC/QZ//2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Becoming a superstar in any sport requires years of dedication to the craft and a bit of luck to break through the proverbial glass ceiling. Such was the story of Rodtang Jitmuangnon, and ONE Championship fans could not help but applaud his efforts. The world's largest martial arts promotion shared Rodtang's story in an emotional Instagram video featuring 'The Iron Man' narrating the hardships he faced as a child before finding success in Muay Thai.
Watch the entire video below:
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The comments section of the post was flooded with fans giving the Jitmuangnon Gym star pupil his hard-earned flowers, writing:
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"Tough time create tough man👏"
"He deserves the best."
"God gives his hardest challenges to his strongest warriors. Allhamdoulilah 🤲 @rodtang_jimungnon"
"This is inspiring."
"Absolute legend."
![Screenshot of comments. [ONE Championship/Instagram]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/03/4f493-17424611587944-1920.jpg)
The Thai great's commitment to 'The Art of Eight Limbs' led to him capturing the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world championship in August 2019. He held it for over five years with five successful defenses before it was stripped from him in November 2024 for failing to make weight for his defense against Jacob Smith.
He is currently zeroed in on defeating Japanese kickboxing great Takeru Segawa at ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang on Sunday, March 23, at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
ONE 172 will be available live on pay-per-view at watch.onefc.com.
Rodtang confident in his chances of victory at ONE 172
The most important ingredient in Rodtang's success is his unshakeable confidence, which emerged during an interview with BJPenn.com when discussing his upcoming bout with Takeru.
The 27-year-old said:
"I'll be able to win for sure. I think this fight is going to be the best fight I have ever done. And I think it's the most meaningful fight for me, of my career, of my life. It's truly the biggest fight for me. I'm really facing a Japanese superstar. The best one."
