Rodtang, Superlek Deliver Sensational Performances at One: Fists of Fury
Source: One Championship
Rodtang Jitmuangnon and Superlek Kiatmoo9 took to the stage of One Championship on Friday 26 February at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Both fighters controlled their respective bouts but walked away with different results.
In his first kickboxing-rules fight for One Championship promotion, Rodtang showed why he’s one of the best fighters of this era. He took on Russian kickboxer Tagir Khalilov who displayed commendable movement and was able to connect with his quick punches but none of which fazed the “Iron Man” with his iron chin. The Tank stood tall despite eating head shots from the Russian, returning the favor with harder body shots.
Rodtang was unable to score the knockout win but walked home with a victory via split decision after a sensational performance. With this fight, he remains undefeated at One Championship with an amazing 9-win streak. The current One Muay Thai flyweight champion, Rodtang is now on track to become a two-sport world champion as the next in line to challenge the reigning One kickboxing flyweight world champion.
In the main event, Superlek entered the cage as the challenger for Ilias Ennahachi’s Kickboxing flyweight world title.
Superlek got off to a slow start in the five-round bout and Ennahachi capitalized on the momentum to outscore in the first two rounds. By the third round, Superlek was able to read and dissect his opponent’s style.
The Muay Thai star went on a kicking spree leaving Ennahachi’s left arm sore and red while defusing his attack at the same time. Unable to execute his gameplan, the Dutch kickboxer switched into defensive mode, evading for much of the remaining fight.
Despite an apparent winning performance, all three judges scored the fight in favor of the defending champion. The results were widely debated by fans all over the world on social media with the majority citing an obvious Superlek win.
One Championship CEO, Chatri Sityodtong was himself surprised with the outcome. In his facebook post, he said,
“I do not think that a fighter who runs away with minimal output deserves to win. In my opinion, Superlek clearly won the fight. I thought that Ennahachi started strong and won the first 2 rounds, but Superlek took over the fight in rounds 3-5. In the final round, it was clear that Ennahachi did not want to be in the fight anymore. I believe that an automatic rematch is the only fair and correct outcome here.”
A highly-anticipated rematch for the One Championship kickboxing flyweight world title is now on the cards and Superlek gets another shot at the prized world title.
Stay tuned and check back for more updates.
