‘The Iron Man’ Rodtang Jitmuangnon defended his ONE flyweight Muay Thai world championship in dominant fashion at ONE on Prime Video 4. The Thai-born phenom faced the ONE strawweight Muay Thai king ‘The Hurricane’ Joseph Lasiri. Lasiri went up in weight and had the opportunity to become a two-division world champion.
Unfortunately for the Moroccan-Italian Lasiri, his opponent was the unstoppable Rodtang. Over five full rounds of dominance, the power differential was noticeable. The Thai-born athlete controlled, hit harder, and landed more throughout their world title showdown.
See below for a highlight from ONE Championship:
Beyond Kickboxing shared:
With this win, ‘The Iron Man’ has defended his ONE Muay Thai world title in four bouts. His overall record improves to an incredible 269-42-10.
Rodtang Jitmuangnon began Muay Thai as a child
His record may seem unbelievable, but that is because he began competing in Muay Thai when he was only a child. In truth, Rodtang would have rather played soccer, but unfortunately, it did not pay. As a young child, Rodtang needed to take Muay Thai fights to support himself financially and had his first fight at the mere age of 8.
In an interview with ONE Championship, he explained:
“I was jealous of my friends who had toys, phones, and money for treats. I wanted the same things they had. I started fighting so I could buy my own stuff. There was a gym next to my house and it looked so fun, so I went and tried it … It wasn’t so much of a choice, but something I needed to do.”
More than anything, Rodtang is grateful to his parents for the toughness they thought ‘The Iron Man.’ He explained:
“My parents raised me to fend for myself. I realized through Muay Thai, I could not only provide for myself, but for my family also … I’m proud of myself for being able to take care of my family at such a young age. Whatever my mom wants to eat, I make sure she has it,” he adds. Even though our life used to be hard, I’m grateful every day for my parents. I will never forget what they went through for us.”
