ONE Championship: Rodtang ‘shocked’ by fan reception in US, eyes Takeru fight in Japan
- Rodtang was one of the stars of last week’s ONE Fight Night 10 card in Denver, where he wowed fans with a knockout of Edgar Tabares
- Flyweight Muay Thai champ not keen on fighting his countryman Superlek next, and instead aims for Jonathan Haggerty at bantamweight
Nobody was more surprised by the reception that Rodtang Jitmuangnon got in the United States than the ONE Championship flyweight Muay Thai champion himself.
The Thai, 25, had his first fight on US soil at ONE Fight Night 10 last Friday in Denver, Colorado – also the Singapore-based martial art’s promotion’s debut in the country.
He retained his belt with a devastating second-round knockout of Mexico’s Edgar Tabares, which drove the crowd inside the host 1stBank Centre into a frenzy of excitement – but they were screaming his name long before the fight began, and continued to do so long after it was over.
“I was shocked,” he said at the ONE Fight Night 10 post-fight press conference. “I had no idea that they would respond that way, or that I already had a fan base in America. I was shocked. I’m very grateful.
“I never thought, as a child struggling in poverty, that I’d be here.”
Rodtang defeated Tabares in the co-main event of the card – the penultimate bout of the night. Headlining honours went to a flyweight MMA title fight between champion Demetrious Johnson and challenger Adriano Moraes, which the former won by unanimous decision.
