WATCH: Rodtang Jitmuangnon's rise from working every odd job possible to conquering the Muay Thai world

Combat sports fans and athletes alike have praised Rodtang Jitmuangnon for his incredible performances inside the ONE Championship circle, but few truly know the story behind his success.

Before he trades leather with Japanese kickboxing icon Takeru Segawa at ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang on March 23, the world's largest martial arts promotion shared how the Thai great's rough childhood propelled him to superstar status in an Instagram video.

Check out the entire video below:

ONE fans were instantly sold on Rodtang's star potential after seeing him methodically dismantle the great Sergio Wielzen in his September 2018 promotional debut. He went on to win the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world championship from current ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Jonathan Haggerty in August 2019.

As the king of the 125-pound Muay Thai division, 'The Iron Man' logged five successful defenses between then and May 2023. Rodtang's reign ended unceremoniously as he was stripped of the crown after failing to make weight for what would have been his sixth defense in November 2024 against Jacob Smith.

While he wants to reclaim the gold soon, his current focus is on defeating 'The Natural Born Crusher' in front of his home fans at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

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Rodtang addresses Takeru's past call outs

Ever since he signed with ONE in April 2023, Takeru had been calling out Rodtang to a bout and the 27-year-old did not hide his excitement about having a fighter hunting him.

The Jitmuangnon Gym standout said as much in a recent interview with the promotion:

"Since Takeru got into ONE, he's been calling for me. I'm glad that a superstar like Takeru demands and wants to fight with me since he got into ONE."

ONE 172 will be available live on pay-per-view at watch.onefc.com.