ONE Championship: Rodtang can 'rule the world' if he gets a nutritionist says Denis Puric – 'he'll be a monster'
Rodtang Jitmuangnon can "rule the world" if he hires a nutritionist, according to his ONE Championship rival-turned-friend Denis Puric.
"The Iron Man" beat Puric by unanimous decision at ONE 167 last weekend at a sold-out Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.
But the 26-year-old missed weight badly for the flyweight kickboxing bout, drawing "harsh comments" which "went too far" on social media, reducing him to tears during his post-fight interview in the Circle.
Puric expressed frustration at the scale fail before the fight but buried the hatchet with Rodtang backstage – and they went on to play football together the following night before sharing a meal.
The topic of food came up again when Puric appeared on the ONE on SK MMA Podcast on Monday. He said:
"One thing I would like Rodtang to do is get a nutritionist. I had my strength and conditioning coach and nutritionist with me and we were trying to explain to him. My coach explained to him a bunch of things he’s never known. Now they have direct contact with Coach Kobes [Shaun Kober]. I told him [Rodtang], 'if you ever need anything, we’re here to help'.
"We want you to do everything right. If he takes care of his body, this guy can rule the world. He can be better than everyone, he can be the best. If he does all that, he will kill everybody."
ONE's flyweight Muay Thai champion has struggled on the scale in recent years, missing weight last time he fought at Impact Arena, a January 2023 kickboxing bout against China's Jiduo Yibu.
He also opted not to even weigh in for a flyweight kickboxing grand prix semi-final against Savvas Michael in August 2022, while Superlek Kiatmookao was flown in as backup for Rodtang's ONE Fight Night 10 co-main event title defence in May last year. Puric added:
"He doesn’t have the right guidance. At this level you need the right people around you. Not saying he doesn't, he just needs people who will help him with these problems he’s having with the weight cuts.
"Imagine if he was eating the right things? Monster. Monster."
Puric also made an impassioned speech to fans, telling them to stop criticizing Rodtang for his weight miss.
"The Bosnian Menace", 39, insisted it was all water under the bridge. He said:
"Nobody’s perfect. People don’t see what happened behind the scenes. He’s been going through some personal things in his life. I want the Thai people to give him a break.
"I know he didn't do it on purpose. He tried. It is what it is. We agreed to fight. If I had a problem with it, I wouldn't have agreed.
"A lot of people sit on their computer and wait for something negative to happen so they have something smart to say. After the fight everybody wants to be a coach or a trainer sitting behind a screen talking s***." I just want the fans to move on, leave the guy alone."
Puric had been one of Rodtang's detractors building up the fight, and questioned his record in ONE Championship while calling for the fight earlier this year. He added:
"I've never had anything against him, I just felt ONE Championship were feeding him fighters that weren’t ranked, to stay on top. On Saturday, he obviously proved that he is the king. He is who he is. He’s the truth.
"Legend in the making, for sure, if he’s not a legend now. I've been around legends most of my career. I've been around Buakaw, Superbon, Petchtanong, Saenchai. Give him a couple more years and Rodtang will be that Hall of Famer, for sure. He deserves it now, and he’s only 26 years old."