Former ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon stunned the combat sports world with an 80-second destruction of Japanese superstar Takeru Segawa at ONE 172 on Sunday, March 23, at Saitama Super Arena in Japan.
The highly anticipated flyweight kickboxing super-fight ended dramatically when Rodtang landed a devastating left hook. The punch sent the three-division K-1 Champion crashing to the canvas.
“I didn’t expect that knockout to happen in the first round, to find a way to finish Takeru,” Rodtang said. “Back home in Thailand, I’ve been training very hard for this fight.”
The Thai megastar revealed his game plan centered around exploiting Takeru’s discomfort when forced to retreat. The strategy paid off spectacularly in front of a shocked Japanese crowd.
“I have studied all the weaknesses, and all the openings of Takeru, and that left hook is one of the moves that I trained,” Rodtang said. “I feel like I did my part, but I didn’t expect that finish that quickly.”
The victory marks a crucial rebound for the 27-year-old, who has been dealing with career adversity since last November. At ONE 169, Rodtang missed weight and lost his Muay Thai crown on the scales. This ended a reign that had made him the sport’s biggest global star.
“It feels like I just woke up from a bad dream. In the two past fights, I’ve been missing my weight, and I lost something that I cherish, that I love the most, my Muay Thai belt,” he said. “I have to fight the criticism.”
Despite the spectacular kickboxing win over Takeru, Rodtang made it clear his ultimate goal. He want to reclaim the Muay Thai championship he never lost in competition.
“I have to wake up in the morning and have to train hard, and I have to do anything that I can to get that belt back,” Rodtang said.