Watch: ONE Championship fighters pick who wins between Rodtang Jitmuangnon and Demetrious Johnson at ONE X
One of the most anticipated bouts in ONE X is the mixed-rules match between ONE flyweight Muay Thai champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon and MMA great Demetrious Johnson. There will be no judges for this bout that will only go four rounds. The first and third rounds will be fought under Muay Thai rules, while the second and fourth rounds will have MMA rules.
The ONE X bout is legitimately one of the most-anticipated contests of the year, and fighters, pundits and fans have given their two cents on the potential outcome.
In a YouTube video released by the South China Morning Post, we see different takes by ONE Championship fighters on this much-awaited clash of icons at ONE X. Some are straight out picking who they think will win, while others are torn on who will get their hand raised at the end of the contest.
Fighters like Fabricio Andrade, ONE featherweight champion Thanh Le, Mei Yamaguchi, Dustin Joynson and Eduard Folayang spoke their minds in the video.
Watch the full fight prediction video here:
"It's hard to submit somebody who doesn't want to be submitted" - Thanh Le on Demetrious Johnson vs. Rodtang Jitmuangnon at ONE X
Of all the fighters who provided their insights on the ONE X special-rules bout, it was ONE featherweight champion, Thanh Le, who gave the most interesting break down. The Vietnamese-American champion talked about the difficulties Demetrious Johnson might face in the first round:
"Man, I don't know. I can't give you an answer. I've heard 'Mighty Mouse' [Johnson] say things like he wants to test his striking in round one but 'Mighty Mouse' didn't get to where he was without knowing his capabilities and the dangers [that] his opponents bring. And Rodtang ain't the dude to mess with when it comes to s*** like this. So I don't know, man. If he goes out there and really try to test his striking and doesn't play to fight round two, I think he could be in some trouble. Obviously."
Le feels that the shorter three-minute rounds give Demetrious Johnson a chance to survive the first round, which will be played under Muay Thai rules. However, they can be more bane than boon when it comes to submitting the Thai fighter in the MMA stanzas:
"But if it gets to round two, the only other thing in 'Mighty Mouse's' way is a short round. They're three-minute rounds?... And then, by the time he gets [Rodtang] down, after a couple of minutes to submit him, it's hard to submit somebody who doesn't want to be submitted. Let's say you trained zero days, and you just curled up into a ball and didn't want me to choke you, that would be difficult. The good thing is in MMA, we get to punch. So that's going to be a good equalizer for him."
Le is correct. If a person refuses to engage in any sort of combat situation and just chooses to be a defensive shell, it will be difficult to find openings to attack them. This is especially true when it comes to grappling. If someone chooses to just curl up and refuses to attack, there will be no opportunity to advance or counter. This might be something 'DJ' will have to look into if he reaches the second round at ONE X.