Watch: Angela Lee and Demetrious Johnson interact after ONE X victories
Backstage at ONE X, the winners of the co-main and main event were seen interacting and sharing congratulatory words. ONE atomweight world champion 'Unstoppable' Angela Lee, with her daughter Ava Marie in her arms, was greeted by ONE flyweight Grand Prix champion Demetrious 'Mighty Mouse' Johnson.
'DJ' was all praise for the atomweight queen who had to weather an early storm to win a comeback submission victory over Stamp Fairtex. Johnson was heard giving some positive feedback on Lee's ability to hunt for submissions:
"When you were transitioning from submission to submission, I was like, 'okay, okay. I see you, I see you.'"
Johnson, a submission wizard himself, recognizes greatness when he sees it. This short but meaningful remark coming from a fighter most consider to be the greatest of all time is a huge feather in Lee's cap.
Watch their full interaction here:
True martial artists 🙏
@angelaleemma @MightyMouse #ONEX #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship https://t.co/VNRHBIk45G
Demetrious Johnson submits Rodtang Jitmuangnon in a mixed rules bout at ONE X
In the co-main event of ONE's historic 10th-anniversary card, ONE X, Demetrious Johnson fought ONE flyweight Muay Thai champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon. Their epic bout, which was a mixed-rules bout, will surely be remembered for a long time.
This hybrid-rules co-main event, in which the first and third rounds were fought under Muay Thai rules while the second and fourth were under MMA rules, delivered heaps of action and concluded in dramatic fashion.
Demetrious Johnson chokes Rodtang OUT COLD in the MMA round of their mixed rules bout. 🐭
Live results: bit.ly/3tExzgc https://t.co/NLZIaGmdTH
The former 11-time defending UFC champion went toe-to-toe with perhaps the deadliest Muay Thai fighter in his weight class. Not only did 'DJ' survive, he also managed to make the exchanges exciting and competitive. The first Muay Thai round was so exciting we hardly had any time to breathe.
In the second round, which was an MMA round, Johnson immediately took Rodtang down and proceeded to choke him out. The Jitmuangnon fighter, true to his grit and toughness, refused to tap and opted to just pass out.
In the post-fight interview, the MMA legends showed respect for the modern-day Muay Thai icon:
"You know, this training camp was really [good] for me. Had a great team around me. They prepared me for this madness... I knew it was going to be hell. No one remembers your name if you don't take risks. I knew he was the hardest hitting man in this entire division... 35 years old, I ain't no spring chicken, but I can still fight."
ONE CEO and founder Chatri Sityodtong was so entertained by the DJ/Rodtang bout at ONE X that he immediately planned to have more mixed rules bouts in the future. In the post-event media scrum, Sityodtong said:
"I literally said to [ONE VP] Matt Hume, ‘Bro, get a creative session together. Let’s all do this. Pick our brains. Anybody in the roster. Any crazy ideas, any wacky things we can do. To give the fans something, a special treat that no one else can do in the world.’ So yeah, we’re going to put our heads together next week."
Thanks to ONE X's co-main event, it looks like we'll be seeing more of these exciting mixed-rules contests inside the circle in the future. One thing's for sure: we can't wait until we do.