Rodtang Withdraws from ONE 173 Title Clash with Nong-O After Being Taken to Hospital
Rodtang is officially out of ONE 173.
The Iron Man’ was scheduled to square off with fellow Thai superstar Nong-O Hama this Sunday in Tokyo to crown a new ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion. Unfortunately, that is no longer on the docket after Rodtang was rushed to the hospital immediately after successfully weighing in on Saturday.
According to a report from Nick Atkin of the Bangkok Post, he is currently undergoing treatment and evaluation.
While Rodtang made both weight and hydration during his weigh-in, Nong-O failed to pass hydration on two attempts. Additionally, Nong-O failed to make weight as well, leaving no chance of the fight moving forward with a short-notice replacement opponent for Rodtang.
Instead, the bout has been scrapped from the highly anticipated event, with ONE officials looking to reschedule the contest for a later date.
“I gave everything I had,” Rodtang wrote in a post on Facebook. “I did everything to make it through, but my body just couldn’t handle it. I want to become champion again, but if my body isn’t in good condition, ONE also cannot allow me to fight. I accept that, and I truly hope we will meet again in the next fight. I’m sorry to all the fans who were waiting to see me and have always supported me.
Rodtang is no stranger to weigh-in struggles
Rodtang reigned as the ONE flyweight Muay Thai titleholder for five years, but his run came to a crashing halt last November when he stepped on the scale overweight for a title defense against Jacob Smith at ONE 169. Since then, he’s only competed once, scoring an 80-second knockout over Takeru Segawa in March.
As for Nong-O, the former bantamweight champion competed as a flyweight in his last two outings, leading many to believe that he would have no issues making weight for his dream match with Rodtang.
The only other fighter to miss the mark during the weigh-ins was Japanese debutant Rukiya Anpo. He returned a hydration score of 1.0292, above the 1.0250 threshold, and then missed weight at 155.4 pounds. With around 40 minutes left, he did not return for a second attempt.
His fight with former three-time GLORY Kickboxing champ Marat Grigorian will move forward as scheduled.
