Rodtang Jitmuangnon returned from injury in epic fashion at ONE 167: Tawanchai vs. Nattawut II this past Friday, Jun. 7.
A vintage performance from “The Iron Man” saw him best Denis Puric over three rounds to earn a unanimous decision victory in their catchweight kickboxing contest.
However, the good feelings of victory were overshadowed by the reaction the world had to him missing the originally set flyweight limit. An emotional Rodtang described how the pointed words from fans affected his mental state as he prepared to return to the Circle.
“I feel relieved right now. On the day that I missed weight, I felt bad for myself, and there was heavy drama and harsh comments online. I couldn’t even pick up my phone to check my phone again. But the comments went too far. They were aimed at the people that I love and the people around me,” he said to ONE.
“The Irom Man” knows that social media only tells part of the story, and what he shares is only a snippet of what goes on behind the scenes.
The Thai superstar believes he doesn’t need to tell every detail to his followers and the reaction to what happened during fight week was harsh because the public weren’t fully aware of everything.
“About social media, a lot of people talked about how I didn’t train or anything like that. When I’m training, I’m focused on that. I don’t think it’s necessary for me to show everyone what I’m training each day or what I’m eating each day. It’s really irrelevant,” Rodtang stated.
With his return to the winners’ column, Rodtang began to focus on what’s next for him, and there’s one name in particular at the top of his list: Takeru Segawa.
The long-awaited showdown between the pair is what the flyweight Muay Thai king hopes is next on the agenda for him in ONE Championship.
“Now that I’m back and fighting again, I want to fight Takeru. Takeru, let’s go,” Rodtang said.
That match is also a priority for ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong.
The ONE co-founder said it is a match he will certainly be exploring when talking to the media after ONE 167 this past weekend.
“I want to do Rodtang vs. Takeru. 100 percent. I want to do that fight this year. Maybe in Japan, let’s see. Let’s see,” Sityodtong said.
“I need to sit down with Rodtang, and I need to sit down and talk with Takeru to see if and when they’re gonna fight. Or actually, when they’re gonna fight. It’s such a huge fight for them, and it will definitely be one of the biggest fights in Japan’s history, so we want to do that ideally in Japan. But again, there’s a lot of moving parts.”