Ambitious Rodtang is eyeing MMA
ONE Championship megastar Rodtang Jitmuangnon severely punished Joseph Lasiri when the two world champions squared off at the weekend.
“The Iron Man” successfully defended his ONE flyweight Muay Thai world championship for the fourth time in Singapore.
Rodtang’s victory over “The Hurricane” extended his Muay Thai and kickboxing record in the organisation to 12-0 and gave him the longest winning streak in ONE Championship.
The Thai had much to celebrate once he exited the circle, but he was less than impressed with Lasiri’s performance, despite the fact that the Italian-Moroccan also holds the ONE strawweight Muay Thai world championship.
“He [lasted] for five rounds because he’s a great runner. He should have stood up and then [brawled] with me instead of running. That’s why he could last until the fifth round,” Rodtang said.
“[For] his running skills, I give him a 10. For his talking skills, I give him a 10 as well. But for his fighting skills, [I’d] maybe minus [a few] points,” Rodtang said.
The 25-year-old won’t need to dwell on Lasiri for long.
He now has an impressive 269-42-10 record and has proven that he is willing to take on any challenge — whether he is competing against a fellow world champion or stepping into a special rules super-fight against one of the best fighters in the world, like he did when he faced MMA GOAT Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson earlier this year.
Rodtang has already set his sights on his next goal, which is to become a two-sport world champion in ONE and whatever follows from there.
“What I’m aiming for right now is to get the [ONE] world title for kickboxing [and become] a second-sport world champion. After that, I’m going to go all the way in MMA and then challenge whoever the champion is at that time. It’s coming soon as a future fight for sure,” he said.