“The Iron Man” Rodtang Jitmuangnon, 22, of Bangkok, Thailand is still the reigning ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion. He successfully defended his belt at “ONE: Century 世紀” in Tokyo, Japan.
“ONE: Century 世紀” was the second ONE Championship event held in Japan. It marked the martial arts organization’s 100th live event.
Featuring mixed martial arts, Muay Thai and kickboxing matches, “ONE: Century 世紀” took place at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on October 12, 2019. In the seventh bout of the second part, Walter Goncalves, 21, of Brazil challenged Rodtang with Elias Dolaptsis as the referee.
In the first round , both Rodtang and Goncalves moved forward with their most powerful combinations. Neither man took a step back.
In the second and third rounds, action continued the same way. Rodtang pushed the pace as Goncalves countered off his back foot.
The penultimate round was close with Rodtang swinging wild haymakers from the center of the ONE Championship cage. However, Goncalves showcased impressive head movement and evasion, slipping most of the defending champion’s power shots.
In the final round, Rodtang continued to stalk Goncalves across the canvas but the Brazilian challenger was unwilling to engage. After five three-minute rounds, the title bout was left in the hands of the judges.
In the end, Dolaptsis raised the hand of Rodtang, who was declared the winner via split decision. The Thai fighter is now riding a five-bout winning streak in ONE Super Series.
This marked the sixth ONE Super Series win of Rodtang, who now has a professional Muay Thai record of 260 wins, 41 losses, 10 draws. On the other hand, Goncalves now has 65 wins and 6 losses.
Including Thailand and Brazil, 18 countries were represented in the two parts of “ONE: Century 世紀.” The others were Algeria, Belarus, China, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey and the United States.
Jitmuangnon was one of the three fighters who represented Thailand while Goncalves was one of the four representatives of Brazil. Watch the highlights of “ONE: Century 世紀” part 2 here:
CONAN Daily 