SUMMARY
- Rodtang Jitmuangnon currently holds the Muay Thai flyweight title in ONE Championship.
- "The Iron Man" has become a huge superstar thanks to his amazing fighting abilities.
ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon has reached a level of fame that even he never thought possible.
“The Iron Man” is one of the most recognizable faces on the ONE Championship roster, owing to performances in the Circle that have seen clips of his all-out attacking style and showmanship go viral.
The level of fandom that now surrounds the Thai superstar was on full display when ONE made its long-awaited United States debut this past May.
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Despite the ONE Fight Night 10 card showcasing American standouts such as Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson and “Super” Sage Northcutt, one of the biggest pops of the night was reserved for the flyweight Muay Thai king.
After he dispatched Mexican challenger Edgar Tabares in the second round, even Rodtang – who grew up poor in Phattalung, Thailand – couldn’t quite believe the ovation he had received.
“I was shocked. I had no idea that Americans would respond that way or that I already had a fan base in America,” he recalled. “I’m just very grateful. I never thought as a child struggling in poverty that I’d be here.”
Later in the year, the 26-year-old went on to compete in a battle that was named ONE’s “Best Muay Thai Fight of 2023” against friend and fellow countryman Superlek Kiatmoo9.
Although he fell to defeat when the razor-thin judges’ decision was announced, the amount of coverage and critical acclaim that surrounded the epic fight showed just how far Rodtang and the sport of Muay Thai have come.
Fans mob Rodtang Jitmuangnon
The latest example of Rodtang Jitmuangnon’s mind-blowing star power recently played out at a local soccer game in Thailand. In a video posted to his Instagram page, Rodtang was mobbed by enthusiastic young fans who clamored for the Muay Thai superstar’s autograph.
Although he barely made it out of the carpark before a crowd descended on him, Rodtang showed his gratitude in the caption.
“Thank you 🙏🏻🫶,” he wrote.
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It’s unclear where exactly the video was taken, but the Jitmuangnon Gym representative appears to have put on the jersey of the team that he was there to support after sporting a casual t-shirt at the beginning.
The clip was liked more than 13,000 times and the comments section features ONE royalty such as flyweight kickboxing king Superlek, and two-division ONE MMA World Champion Anatoly Malykhin.