Rodtang \u201cThe Iron Man\u201d Jitmuangnon, ONE of ONE Championship\u2019s most dominant fighters returns to the ring next week – and has promised to make opponent Denis Puric \u2018know what hell on earth is like\u2019.
\nFor the Canadian-born Puric, this is a dream fight and one he has sought for almost his entire time with ONE Championship – dating back since 2022.
\nNow the 39-year-old has had his wish granted on the back of some impressive performances that have propelled him to the number two spot in the flyweight Muay Thai rankings. Rodtang is the current king of that division, and while their bout at the Impact Arena, Bangkok, will be held under kickboxing rules, there is no doubt this is an opportunity Puric will relish.
\nThis will be our first sighting of Rodtang in seven months. He\u2019s not been in the ring since suffering an injury. Now the crowd favourite is back – and is the first to acknowledge his opponent is \u2018ready\u2019.
\n\u201cPuric built himself up to call me out,\u201d said Rodtang. \u201cIt\u2019s his right to do that. He wants to fight with the best. I just waited for ONE\u2019s matchmakers to approve it because I\u2019m ready to fight anyone.\u00a0
\n\u201cHe is very good. He beat Tagir Khalilov and Jacob Smith, so I think he deserves to face me. In his fight with Yodlekpet, I could see this guy is a veteran fighter, and he is more than ready to fight me.\u201d
\nIt is incredible to think Rodtang is still just 26-years-old when his reputation and record reflect that of a much more experienced fighter.
\nDespite Puric trying to get under his skin, suggesting he would \u2018make a fool\u2019 out of his Thai opponent if they stand toe-to-toe, Rodtang has remained calm and gracious ahead of the bout.
\n\u201cI have known Denis Puric for a long time,\u201d he said. \u201cSince he first joined ONE, he has been calling for me from the beginning. Thank you for always thinking of me.\u00a0
\n\u201cI respect him for his determination because it\u2019s really difficult to run through many opponents to reach me. You have to fight to put yourself into the rankings to challenge me. He tried his best and managed to face me. I have to respect his fighting spirit.\u201d
\nDespite all the pre-fight niceties, Rodtang\u2019s prediction for the contest was chilling.
\n\u201c\u201cLet\u2019s see how it goes in the ring. I\u2019m glad you think that I\u2019m no match for you. Thank you for calling me out. See you on June 7, when you will know what hell on earth is.\u201d
\nMiddle East fight fans can watch ONE 167: Tawanchai vs. Nattawut II live on BeIN SPORTS\u00a0 as well as watch.onefc.com on Saturday June 7 from 3am AST.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rodtang \u201cThe Iron Man\u201d Jitmuangnon, ONE of ONE Championship\u2019s most dominant fighters returns to the ring next week \u2013 and has promised to make opponent Denis Puric \u2018know what hell on earth is like\u2019.
\nFor the Canadian-born Puric, this is a dream fight and one he has sought for almost his entire time with ONE Championship \u2013 dating back since 2022.
\nNow the 39-year-old has had his wish granted on the back of some impressive performances that have propelled him to the number two spot in the flyweight Muay Thai rankings. Rodtang is the current king of that division, and while their bout at the Impact Arena, Bangkok, will be held under kickboxing rules, there is no doubt this is an opportunity Puric will relish.
\nThis will be our first sighting of Rodtang in seven months. He\u2019s not been in the ring since suffering an injury. Now the crowd favourite is back \u2013 and is the first to acknowledge his opponent is \u2018ready\u2019.
\n\u201cPuric built himself up to call me out,\u201d said Rodtang. \u201cIt\u2019s his right to do that. He wants to fight with the best. I just waited for ONE\u2019s matchmakers to approve it because I\u2019m ready to fight anyone.\u00a0
\n\u201cHe is very good. He beat Tagir Khalilov and Jacob Smith, so I think he deserves to face me. In his fight with Yodlekpet, I could see this guy is a veteran fighter, and he is more than ready to fight me.\u201d
\nIt is incredible to think Rodtang is still just 26-years-old when his reputation and record reflect that of a much more experienced fighter.
\nDespite Puric trying to get under his skin, suggesting he would \u2018make a fool\u2019 out of his Thai opponent if they stand toe-to-toe, Rodtang has remained calm and gracious ahead of the bout.
\n\u201cI have known Denis Puric for a long time,\u201d he said. \u201cSince he first joined ONE, he has been calling for me from the beginning. Thank you for always thinking of me.\u00a0
\n\u201cI respect him for his determination because it\u2019s really difficult to run through many opponents to reach me. You have to fight to put yourself into the rankings to challenge me. He tried his best and managed to face me. I have to respect his fighting spirit.\u201d
\nDespite all the pre-fight niceties, Rodtang\u2019s prediction for the contest was chilling.
\n\u201c\u201cLet\u2019s see how it goes in the ring. I\u2019m glad you think that I\u2019m no match for you. Thank you for calling me out. See you on June 7, when you will know what hell on earth is.\u201d
\nMiddle East fight fans can watch ONE 167: Tawanchai vs. Nattawut II live on BeIN SPORTS\u00a0 as well as watch.onefc.com on Saturday June 7 from 3am AST.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398436"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=398436"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":398437,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398436\/revisions\/398437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=398436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=398436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=398436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}