Watch: Rodtang Jitmuangnon vs. Hakim Hamech - Full fight with no commentary
After his performance at the historic ONE X event, one can make the argument that Rodtang Jitmuangnon is the most famous Muay Thai fighter in the world right now. The ONE flyweight Muay Thai champion broke through the mainstream when he put on a marvelous performance against MMA legend Demetrious Johnson.
Despite losing their mixed-rules bout, Rodtang was highly competitive against arguably the greatest MMA fighter of all time, putting him in danger a few times.
Much of how the Muay Thai master's name got thrown around mainstream media outlets was in the build-up to his fight with Johnson. There was a huge question mark on who he was and why he was facing one of the most prominent MMA fighters on the planet.
MMA personalities like Joe Rogan and Dan Hardy have sung Rodtang's praises, building intrigue around him. Once he fought Johnson, however, the world truly saw the man behind the mythical legend.
If you look at his stats alone, you will see why Rodtang Jitmuangnon is highly revered inside martial arts circles. The man has 320 Muay Thai fights and 267 wins under his belt. That might be more fights than an entire division combined. What's outrageous is that Rodtang is only 24 years old. He is, without a doubt, a legend amongst legends.
To give you a taste of his greatness, you can look back at Rodtang's three-round demolition of Hakim Hamech at ONE Championship : A New Era in 2019.
Rodtang was on his usual aggressive self, attacking Hamech like a blood-frenzied shark. The French kickboxer tried his best to answer Rodtang's unbelievably intense maurauding style but ultimately got edged out in the ferociously-contested battle.
Watch the full match without commentary here:
Rodtang Jitmuangnon will take part in ONE Championship's first-ever flyweight Muay Thai Grand Prix
After pretty much cleaning out his division in ONE Championship, Rodtang Jitmuangnon will try to achieve another feather in his cap this year.
At ONE 157, the dominant champion will jump into a pool of sharks to take part in ONE's inaugural flyweight Muay Thai Grand Prix tournament.
Rodtang will welcome Jacob Smith to the ONE circle in the opening round of the tournament. The English-born Smith is the current No.1-ranked Muay Thai fighter in the UK. This is sure to be an interesting bout to see.
Also in the nine-man tournament will be Rodtang Jitmuangnon's rival and former ONE flyweight Muay Thai champion Jonathan 'The General' Haggerty. The two had an epic two-fight rivalry that went down as one of the best in the sport. Here's to hoping they face each other again and provide the fans with another epic showdown.