Rodtang Missed Weight but Didn’t Miss Denis Puric
Rodtang Jitmuangnon’s first fight was never against his opponent. Like any veteran fighter, Rodtang’s major hurdle during the lead-up to a fight is his battle with the scale. Rodtang, the ONE Muay Thai Flyweight champion, failed to make weight and his hydration test for ONE 167.
Rodtang came in 3.5 pounds overweight for his fight with Denis Puric. It was embarrassing for Rodtang, who was facing off against a fighter who said he came to ONE specifically to fight Rodtang. Puric’s dream fight ended in disappointment for him.
While Puric was overwhelmed at certain points, he never stopped coming forward. At one point in the first round, online boxing news showed that Puric waived Rodtang on to exchange blows despite catching several stiff shots as the result of his taunting.
But Rodtang is too experienced a fighter to be dragged into the type of fight he doesn’t want to have. Thanks to his immense power, and his activity, Rodtang was able to pick up a unanimous decision win. Rodtang now has a record of 272-43 in his career.
Tawanchai Makes Unsteady Defense of Championship
Tawanchai P.K. Saenchai’s third title defense of his ONE Featherweight Muay Thai championship is one that will serve as a learning experience. While two of the three judges agreed that Tawanchai did enough to keep his belt, the crowd and one judge thought the fight was much closer.
Jo Nattawut turned things around near the midway point. After eating many left kicks from Tawanchai, Nattawut started to counter with vicious right hands. Those right hands quickly accumulated damage around Tawanchai’s eye.
Nattawut leaned heavily on that move throughout the rest of the fight. Despite the change in momentum, and the pain around his eye, Tawanchai was able to keep the pace and pull away for a narrow win, which was the 133rd of his career.
Musumeci Grabs His Revenge
Mikey Musumeci had a prolonged wait for his revenge against Brazilian grappler Gabriel Sousa. Back in 2021, Sousa surprised many people who followed grappling by submitting the American with a north-south choke at the 2021 FloGrappling WNO Championship. Since then, Musumeci has dominated every other opponent he faced off with.
During the rematch, Musumeci worked diligently to ensure he could defend his ONE Flyweight submission grappling title with little difficulty. Despite giving up an early takedown, Musumeci was able to turn Sousa’s aggression against him.
Once Musumeci was able to get Sousa into his closed guard, he went to work trying to lock up his leg. Musumeci transitioned from using an armbar to locking up Sousa’s leg in a calf slicer. Sousa was forced to tap, and Musmeci earned his revenge.
Ruotolo Proves He Has Potential in MMA
Kade Ruotolo is the perfect embodiment of the spirit of MMA. When things got rolling in the mid-90s, people wanted to know which discipline of fighting was the best one for a fight. But the sport has evolved, and you need to be able to do more than one thing successfully to become a champion.
Ruotolo is the ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Champion, but would like to show off what he can offer in MMA. During his debut against Blake Cooper, Ruotolo showed he wasn’t afraid to throw hands.
MMAfighting latest news shows that Ruotolo chose to strike with Cooper early in the first round. Showcasing the competence of his feet opened up a whole world of opportunities for Ruotolo. He was able to secure a takedown and lock up a first-round submission win with a rear-naked choke.
The challenges will only get tougher for Ruotolo if he sticks with MMA. However, this was a good place for him to start. Ruotolo impressed the promotion enough to pick up a $50,000 performance bonus.
Sitthichai Impresses in Kickboxing Debut
Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong had no issues playing spoiler for what was supposed to be an important night for Masaaki Noiri. Noiri, a two-division K-1 world champion, was hoping to make a big splash right off the bat in ONE’s featherweight kickboxing division.
Sitthichai was able to pick up a decision win by not allowing Noiri to get in the pocket and throw any power strikes. Instead, Sitthichai sat on the outside and used his length to pepper Noiri with a variety of strikes. In addition to uppercuts and other combinations, Sitthichai also mixed in knees and body kicks.
Sitthichai, who is ranked No. 3 in the featherweight division, will hope to parlay this into a championship opportunity down the road.
Denice Zamboanga Stays Active
There was no mistaking Denice Zamboanga’s disappointment when fighting short-notice replacement Noelle Grandjean. Zamboanga was supposed to have a championship fight with ONE Women’s Atomweight Muay Thai championship with Stamp Fairtex.
However, Stamp was forced to pull with a knee injury. Zamboanga didn’t want to miss the opportunity to fight and happily agreed to take on the less-experienced Grandjean. Near the end of the first round, Zamboanga nearly ended the fight with a rear-naked choke.
However, Grandjean survived to the bell. She may have wished she hadn’t. Zamboanga spent the next two rounds outstriking Grandjean to earn an easy unanimous decision win. She is now 11-2 in her career and will await her first shot at the title.
Lee Dominates Pro MMA Debut
Adrian Lee didn’t waste time getting his hand raised for the first time. Lee, just 18, showed off his youthful energy by charging toward his opponent, Antonio Mammarella, and dragging him down for a takedown. Being that aggressive may not be something Lee always wants to do.
But Lee made the most of it against Mammarella, utilizing a second-round takedown to lock up a submission win and earn a $50,000 bonus.
Here’s a look at the rest of the fights not mentioned above:
- Flyweight Muay Thai, Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat win by decision over Johan Ghazali
- Women’s atomweight, Victoria Souza win by technical submission (guillotine choke) over Itsuki Hirata, Round 1 1:31
- Bantamweight Muay Thai, John Estupinan win by decision over Zafer Sayik, Round 3 3:00
Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingnews.com.
By Dean McHugh.
