The Muay Thai dream match that many have waited for is upon us. At ONE Friday Fights 34 on Friday, September 22, Superlek Kiatmoo9 will challenge Rodtang Jitmuangnon for the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Championship. The reigning ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Champion is ready to put on a show and claim two-sport glory.
“This is a dream match for Thai and global fans. I think the ONE [Championship] matchmakers want to put on the biggest main events that every fan wants to see. The fight between Rodtang and me has been highly anticipated for a long time. I think it’s the perfect time for us to fight each other. We couldn’t run from each other any longer. The time has come right now,” Superlek told ONE.
The matchup is something that Superlek knew would come eventually. From his start in Lumpinee Boxing Stadium and Rajadamnern Stadium, the Thai star envisioned battling Rodtang. However, getting to this point has taken some time.
The two stars seemed destined to meet in the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix. However, Rodtang bowed out of the tournament. At the start of 2023, the two were matched against one another, but Rodtang again dropped out due to injury.
But Superlek continued to win and continued to look like the world’s best flyweight. With wins over Nabil Anane and Tagir Khalilov, only Rodtang was left. The title tilt was rebooked, and a date was set.
“It was my initial intention to climb the rankings to fight with Rodtang and become the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion. There are no other potential contenders left to challenge him in this division, except for me. Like I said before, I would prefer to fight with foreign opponents rather than with compatriots. But now, we don’t have any potential opponents left, so our paths must collide,” Superlek stated.
There will not be any bad blood between the two Thai athletes. Superlek and Rodtang are friendly outside of competition. But competing in the same division, they both knew the day of reckoning would come.
“I’m fairly close to him. Rodtang is such a nice guy. We used to play soccer together. He’s a humble and funny person. He is one of those fighters that young fighters should look up to. We used to tease each other about our fight, saying we shouldn’t fight each other. But we realized that sooner or later, we couldn’t avoid it. Last time we had a chat, we talked about this fight, and he said, ‘Wait a bit. I still don’t want to fight you.’ But we are professional fighters. We must do our jobs when the matchmaker throws any opponent our way,” “The Kicking Machine” said.
Although Rodtang had to drop out of their earlier contest, Superlek does not believe he has been avoiding the matchup. The 27-year-old has no doubt that “The Iron Man” will bring his trademark aggression into play when they meet on September 22. The epic meeting will knock Lumpinee Boxing Stadium off its foundation and be one of the most anticipated Muay Thai showdowns of all time.
“In my opinion, [neither of us] are afraid. It’s purely an accident that caused our earlier fight to be canceled [in March]. He got injured from training. I never see any opponent as afraid of me. They all want to fight with me. And especially for Rodtang, he is a world-class superstar. There is no reason for him to fear me,” Superlek said.
ONE Friday Fights 34 will air live and free on ONE Championship’s YouTube channel on Friday, September 22, at 8:30 a.m. ET/5:30 a.m. PT.
