Rodtang says he cannot afford to overlook Takeru's dynamite hands: "He has such heavy punches"
Rodtang Jitmuangnon returned at ONE 169, where after putting in a dominant performance, he turned his attention to his next fight. 'The Iron Man' was back in action at Bangkok's legendary Lumpinee Stadium this past weekend where he achieved mixed results.
Despite dominating in his rematch with Jacob Smith in the co-main event, he missed weight. His debacle on the scales led to him being stripped of the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world championship.
The Thai superstar is now ready to put this behind him as he looks ahead to one of the biggest fights that is out there right now. Rodtang has shared some heated face-to-face encounters with Japanese kickboxing star Takeru Segawa in recent times.
After their bout at ONE 165 earlier this year fell through, the two men have been gearing up for an eventual meeting that looks to be next for both of them.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA, the Thai striker spoke about where he believes he holds an advantage in this long awaited match-up:
"I think I can win using Muay Thai skills which I have more than him. He's not to be underestimated, since he has such heavy punches."
Rodtang has to be focused for this fight
Though his performance against Jacob Smith on Nov. 8 was dominant, Rodtang was clearly being playful during the fight. As he said himself, this combined with missing weight are two things that he cannot afford to do against a dangerous opponent like Takeru.
We saw in 'The Natural Born Crusher's' last appearance at ONE Friday Fights 81 that he can rebound from adversity and change the course of a fight with his finishing instincts.
Both men are incredibly dangerous and therefore, will hopefully bring the best out of each other when they eventually collide.