“He really wanted to fight Takeru” - Chatri Sityodtong reveals Thai superstar Rodtang will be ringside for ONE 165 in Tokyo

Rodtang Jitmuangnon may have withdrawn from the card, but the reigning ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion will still have his presence felt at ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru.

The Thai superstar was supposed to welcome Japanese legend Takeru Segawa to ONE Championship, but he pulled out of the planned kickboxing match after suffering an injury in training.

Nevertheless, Rodtang will be ringside on January 28 at the Ariake Arena.

ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong said Rodtang will be in attendance to watch Takeru’s world title challenge against ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion Superlek Kiatmoo9 in Tokyo.

Sityodtong told reporters present at the ONE 165 press conference:

“Rodtang will come to watch this fight in Tokyo on January 28. He really wanted to fight Takeru. It's genuinely unfortunate that Rodtang had to withdraw due to injury during training.”

It was announced in November 2023 that the two striking megastars would headline ONE 165 in Tokyo, and the combat sports world waited in bated breath for Rodtang and Takeru to finally face each other.

Rodtang, however, suffered an injury in his left hand during training that forced him to relinquish his spot on the card.

Luckily, Superlek accepted the challenge and even threw his ONE flyweight kickboxing world title on the line.

---

Takeru admits he was frustrated by Rodtang’s decision to pull out of the fight

There was no denying that a matchup between Takeru and Rodtang would’ve blown the roof off Ariake Arena, and the Japanese kickboxing icon felt that himself.

Takeru, the only three-division world champion in K-1 Kickboxing history, said in the same press conference how excited he was to fight Rodtang.

When news broke that the ONE flyweight Muay Thai king was injured, it subsequently left a bitter sensation on Takeru:

“There is, of course, a sense of frustration. I had aimed for that and had been working towards it, so there was disappointment. However, I put my life on the line every day, including the final push before the match, so I felt there was no option but to fight in this match.”