SUMMARY
- Rodtang Jitmuangnon is the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion.
- Rodtang is known for his ferocious fighting style and his world-class leg kicks.
A popular YouTuber has given fascinating insight into Rodtang Jitmuangnon’s signature leg kicks. Former Kickboxing World Champion Gabriel Varga sat down to explain the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion’s methods to his fan base.
“I’m a big fan of low kicks. I think they take so much more skill than landing a head punch. There’s no luck involved. You have to land them repeatedly to trick your opponent,” Varga said.
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Among his many weapons, Rodtang’s leg kicks are some of the best in the business. “The Iron Man” has terrorized opponents with the strike since making his ONE debut back in 2018, during which time he has amassed 14 victories throughout his reign over the flyweight Muay Thai division. The leg kick has been the perfect foil for Rodtang’s power punches, so how does he do it?
Gabriel Varga explains why Rodtang Jitmuangnon’s ability to inflict leg damage “is not the same”
Gabriel Varga has broken down how Rodtang Jitmuangnon lands his much-vaunted leg kicks. Sitting down to watch the 26-year-old’s 2019 battle with Cambodian striker Sok Thy, the YouTuber gave some insight into how leg kicks work, and he gave props to Rodtang for stopping his foe in the second round with that very technique.
“The trick with the low kick is that once you land one, you can’t keep firing like head punches, because your own leg can get damaged. So, you have to return to the head. When they get heavy on the leg trying to base out for those punches, then you chop [the leg] again,” Varga explained.
“Leg damage is not the same as head or even body damage. Sometimes, you rebound from those, but it’s just going to get worse and worse on the leg. Tomorrow this dude’s going to be wrecked… Rodtang is doing a good job of not just hunting the leg. [He’s] waiting for moments like that, switching up the angle, going back to the body. I love how he digs to the body.”
In the clip, Rodtang closes the show with yet another leg kick, and Vargas was super impressed. “Rodtang with the leg kick KO. Like I said, [its] one of the most skilled ways to finish an opponent,” he said. “If someone checks a couple of those, you’re going to stop throwing. So, you’ve got to find the meat of the leg as opposed to hitting bone.”
The next fighter to feel the wrath of Rodtang’s leg kicks is still unclear, as the Thai superstar recovers from a hand injury that forced the cancelation of his blockbuster ONE 165 main event showdown with Takeru Segawa. His place will be taken by former foe Superlek Kiatmoo9, who will defend his ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Title against the Japanese superstar on January 28 in Tokyo, Japan.