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Welcome to today's edition of the daily Sportskeeda ONE Championship News Roundup, where we present the promotion's most important stories.
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Today we discuss the one man Rodtang Jitmuangnon would never fight inside the circle, ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong’s expectations of the Pacio-Brooks world title fight, and Christian Lee’s hypothetical match against Islam Makhachev.
#3. “I have no chance against him” - Rodtang reveals who he would never dare face in the circle
Rodtang Jitmuangnon is certainly a menacing martial artist. The ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion owns a perfect 11-0 record in his striking matches in ONE Championship, including 4-0 in world title fights.
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‘The Iron Man’ combines an explosive offense and an indestructible defense in his style which has made him such an endearing figure in the sport.
While he’s seen as this marauding force, there is one person that Rodtang doesn’t want to cross paths with inside the circle.
In an interview with ONE Championship, Rodtang said that he’ll never face ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Nong-O Gaiyanghadao at this point in time:
“Actually, I have no chance against him. I would only dare to fight him when he gets older. I think I can only beat him that way.”
Nong-O is considered one of the greatest fighters of his generation, having amassed an astounding record of 264-54-10 including a perfect 10-0 in ONE Championship.
Though Rodtang won’t be facing Nong-O any time soon, he will defend his belt against ONE strawweight Muay Thai world champion Joseph Lasiri at ONE on Prime Video 4 this Friday at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
#2. “The whole world's going to watch” - ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong says the Pacio-Brooks fight will have a massive impact
ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong always knew just how big of a market the Philippines is. He’s also expecting that his promotion’s final card of the year will blow the roof off any stadium they’re in.
ONE 164 will be the organization’s year-ending card and Joshua Pacio’s defense of the ONE strawweight world title against Jarred Brooks was chosen as the closer for the 2022 calendar year.
While Pacio will certainly enjoy home-field advantage since ONE 164 will be held at Mall of Asia Arena in Manila this December 3, Sityodtong said that the whole card’s impact will be felt well outside of the Philippines.
Sityodtong said in an interview with CNN Sports Desk:
“I think the whole world's going to watch this fight. I think every Filipino is going to watch this fight. 100 million fans in the Philippines and people go crazy. It's crazy.”
#1. Christian Lee predicts outcome if he fights fellow world champions Islam Makhachev, Raush Manifio, Patricky Pitbull
Lightweight is certainly one of the most intriguing divisions right now in mixed martial arts, with four transcendent stars holding the gold across different organizations.
Christian Lee is the reigning ONE lightweight world champion while Islam Makhachev holds the UFC lightweight world title. Patricky Pitbull and Raush Manfio, meanwhile, also hold titles in other promotions.
During his appearance on the MMA Junkie Podcast, Lee said that he sees himself becoming the absolute best lightweight if all four of them are put in a tournament:
“Yeah, I think if you were to put the four of us in one tournament, I think for sure it would be me and Islam in the finals. I have a lot of respect for Islam. He had a great performance in capturing the lightweight title. But I believe that I would win that fight, for sure.”
While that tournament is happening in a hypothetical world, Lee’s next outing happens to be in the real one.
The ONE lightweight world champion will move up a division to face Kiamrian Abbasov for the ONE welterweight world title at ONE on Prime Video 4 this Saturday.
ONE on Prime Video 4 will stream live on Amazon Prime Video and the app's existing subscribers in North America can watch the card for free.
